


Into the Depths

by Blaxis



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alliances, Ayakashi, Clan, Comedy, Death, Enemies, Family, Multi, Rivalry, Romance, Tragedy, Yôkai, betreyal, clan slaughter, enemies are in love, enemy turned friend, friend turned enemy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-08
Updated: 2017-08-30
Packaged: 2018-07-22 10:17:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 48,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7432359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blaxis/pseuds/Blaxis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Hyakume, an Inugami. An encouter that would change their lives and history. Will their love be eternal? Or will hatered separate them? In their journey will he succumb and fall into the depths of his destiny or her heart? (SasuHina, Ooc, AU Historical Edo Era, Yokai)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Disclamer: Naruto and Shippuden belong to Masashi Kishimoto. This is a work of fiction, not for profit.**

**This work can also be found on my Fanfiction and Wattpad accounts under the username "Blaxis"**

* * *

**Prologue**

 

Yõkai, also called Ayakashi, mystical creatures that existed since the dawn of time, feared and hated by humans and labeled as monsters.

In the past there were many hostilities amongst the Yokai of different kinds which caused many losses for them, as well as humans.

For these creatures, deadly fights were a routine, but as time passed it became a chain of hatred and loath which engendered slaughter. On the top of the most deadly clans were the Kyubi no Kitsune clan and Nurarihyon's Hyakki Yako, whom were feared for their strength and cruelty.

As these bloodbaths started to decrease the Yokai's number, and the impatience of parties to annihilate each other, they started summoning the Hyakume clan for help which at first helped their fellow yokai, as their ability was to read the future and control one's mind. Time passed, and some started seeing the Hyakume as an enemy ad well as a hindrance -for not everyone could use a Hyakume.

As a result, happened what was now known as the Sixty Days Carnage incident in which most of the Hyakume perished.

To save her gender, the Hyakume no Hime put her clan into a deep sleep from which they would wake up after that dark era ends, but for such a difficult cast and using her hole powers her lifespan was to end. Wanting to keep her clan in the right way she implanted half of her conscience in one of the sleeping Hyakume, one that would inherit her will for peace.

 

Five hundred and eighty seven years later a young girl woke up from a deep slumber, ignoring that a mere meeting she was to have would be a trigger to an era that would later be known as _'The Rise.'_

**-:-:-:-:-**

Walking clumsily down a dark alley at night, a seemingly young girl wearing a light pink Furisode and a blue Obi was holding possessively a little tissue bag. Her midnight blue curly hair was way past her back dancing with the light breeze of autumn, her dark eyes and naturally pale skin reflected fatigue.

Not paying attention she stumbled and fell thus losing one of her zori, when she tried reaching it on her knees she saw three shadows standing next to it.

"Well, well, well, what a lovely surprise! Who would've thought we would bump into such a nice girl!"

After a hysterical laugh, the three shadows were distinguished as three middle-aged -seemingly drunk- men. The young maiden fell back and tried to back off but one of them already grabbed her.

"That's not something very clever you know, in this part of the countryside bad things can happen; especially to young innocent girls like you." Mocked the one who held her captive.

"Let me go." She neither asking nor begging, she didn't even seem scared. For the men's surprise she had a bored expression and her tone was a threatening one.

"Hey, hey, I don't think you're in position to ask such a thing!!?" Cried one of them as her grabbed her by her thighs and moving up to her buttock, the one who held her hand used his free hand to grab one of her breasts and started molesting it.

"Hey! Move it a have a say on her too you know." The third man growled and trying to make a way for his hand down her intimate place.

Frustration and anger arose in the girl as dark flames started to come out of her body, and suddenly a hound's howling was heard.

Jumping from the dark, a shadow in the speed of sound took down the three men. The maiden was nothing but stunned, then the shadow approached her, trying to find power to get up she ended up losing consciousness.

 

After finishing his errands and purchases, a young man was walking down the village's market, thinking about a maiden he left sleeping in his bed.

* * *

 

**A/N:**

***Kyubi no Kitsune: nine-tailed fox Japanese Yokai.**

***Nurarihyon: a Japanese Yokai who intrudes on houses to drink tea when its owners are busy, also believed to be descended of the Umibozu.**

***Hyakki Yako: litt. The Parde of the Hundered Yokai.**

***Hyakume: a Japanese Yokai that has hundred eyes.**

**I hope you liked it.**


	2. The Beginning

**Disclamer: Naruto and Shippuden belong to Masashi Kishimoto. This is a work of fiction, not for profit.**

**This work can also be found on my Fanfiction and Wattpad accounts under the username "Blaxis"**

* * *

 

**Chapter One: The beginning**

_‘You’ve always said that if you could flap your wings, you would never come back down. You always aimed for that blue, blue sky, right?'_

_What she heard was a feminine voice, it was gentle, making her feel safe; she had her eyes closed, but could feel that she was lying on spring's green grass, and above her was her beloved blue sky._

_'Who are you?' She asked, feeling a warm hand brushing her hair._

_'Still without remembering "sadness" you begin to grasp "pain."'_

_Something watery fell on her right cheek, raindrops? No, it was something warm that reflected pain... tears? Why was that woman crying?_

_As she opened her eyes the first thing she saw was a rain of blood; people, her people were being slaughtered right in front of her; cries of agony were heard yet they were silenced by the ruthless night._

_‘As you awaken from a dream in an unknown world, spread your wings and take flight, Amaya' that voice seemed so further inside that bloodshed._

An acute scream was emitted from a sleeping girl before breathing heavily, noticing it was just a nightmare.

She put her hand on her right eye trying to cool off. When her heart beat stabilized she started noticing her surroundings, she was in a futon, her clothes were not the ones she was wearing earlier, and she obviously neither knew the room she was in nor the way she came therea. Holding her head between her hands, she started reckoning what happened.

"Oh yeah… The bastards. But how did I get here?"

At the exact moment when a young raven haired handsome -as she noted- man slid open the door of the room, and her stomach growled like an angry bear. The man sweat dropped and she turned red as a tomato.

"Ah… It’s... Umm." before being able to articulate a normal sentence the man cut her,

"The door on your left is the washroom, wash yourself then come down to eat." Closing the door behind him.

 _‘What a way to start!’_ She thought.

The indigo haired woman was secretly happy that over the centuries the washrooms didn't change, even though most of the civilization did.

Taking off her clothes she helped herself with a quick shower; she found another pair of pale yellow kimono in the room that she gladly wore. Drying her hair with a towel was very difficult, for it was long and a bit curly, so she quickly made it into a fishtail braid not wanting to make her host wait any longer.

The young girl made her way down the stairs, that where at the proximity of the hall where her room was situated. To her pleasure the architecture was beautiful; she could distinguish it as a recently built house, since the wood did not creak to the contact of her feet. Touching the walls she felt warmth coming from it; it gave a feeling of longing. Reaching the main floor she noticed the man in the room in front of her thus making her way to him. He was sitting on the sole stair that separated the room from the garden with sliding glass doors, she deducted it was a washitsu from the first glance due to the tatami flooring, the oshiire and the fusuma.

He slowly turned his head to her direction; she was confused, how could he know she was here as she made no sound?

"Good morning." She said shyly.

Not turning his gaze from her, as if he was analyzing her, making her uncomfortable, he replied tilting back his head, "The food is on the kotatsu, serve yourself."

Making herself comfortable under the kotatsu, she stared at him for a few minutes, to his displeasure, before eating.

"Thank you for the food." Upon finishing she prayed, putting down her chopsticks; he noted that her tone was excited, and _relaxed._

The raven haired man was surprised by her sudden change of attitude; she was shy at first, now she was acting like she knew him his whole life.

Yet what she said next, when she sat next to him and bowed her head a bit as a sign of respect and gratitude, shocked him the most.

"Thank you for the food and your hospitality; to tell the truth it's been a few days I haven't properly eat and slept like this! There were no tea stops or inns on the way here!" She said, frowning a little, before giving him a smile of acknowledgment,

"Thank you also for rescuing me yesterday, even though, I could've easily taken care of those rascals by myself. There are not many good hearted Yokai like you nowadays, _Inugami-san_."

He could no longer keep his composure when she said that, so he got up and backed off, making enough space between them.

"Who are you?”  He asked on a threatening tone “No, _what_ are you?"

She took her time before answering, taking a good look at him. He was a tall muscled man; he had raven black hair reaching his neck, black eyes and a normal tanned skin. He wore a brawn kimono and a grey haori, he looked in his twenties but he was obviously older.

He was also handsome, _very_ handsome.

“Oh, please don't be afraid, I’m not going to eat you!” She giggled, “I'm no cannibal.”

Her host wasn't, which made him very irritated, to show the maiden that he wasn't joking he revealed his sharp claws and fangs.

“Oh please don't take it badly. My name is Hinata and I am a Hyakume"

“Hya…kume? That's impossible! That species is extinguished!!" He growled.

"That's very rude of you!" She defended, "We're not dead, just an endangered kind."

"But the Hyakume clan disappeared centuries ago! No one saw one after the Sixty Days Carnage."

Hinata flinched at his statement, making him raise a brow; maybe it made her remember things she wished to forget?

"True, but we didn't all die, our princess put the surviving ones in deep sleep, we've been waking up from it a few years ago." She sighed "You obviously don't know, because no one knows about it only the most powerful Yokai that could feel our presence but without knowing where we were."

A long silence followed her astonishing confession.

"Why would I believe you?" He voiced calmly.

"You can believe whatever you want, but the only fact of knowing you're an Inugami is sufficient as I read some of your memories before eating."

"What?" He growled, _‘this woman… how dares she!’_

"It was very inappropriate of me, I sincerely apologize.” The indigo haired retorted making eye contact with him, “You are part of the Nurarihyon clan, right?"

"Why ask when you already know?” he clicked his tongue, “And what of it?"

"I would like to ask a favor." Hinata confessed, clenching her hands.

Smelling no malice or suspicious odors from her, he decided it was best for the moment to hear what she had to say, and sat in front of her –not letting his guard down.

"So, what is it that you want?" He asked crossing his arms to his chest.

His sudden comprehension made her smile. "I would like you to take me to Nurarihyon."

The young Inugami raised a brow as an act of surprise, and desire to know more; the maiden sighed, knowing it wasn't going be easy to convince him.

"Did you peak on my bag?" The hyakume asked.

"No..." He didn't quite understand what it had to do with the main subject.

"It contains a bottle of Sake; but not any Sake, it is a special Sake that only our tribe makes; and Nurarihyon loved it in the past." her face then turned livid "As you may know, the last meeting of the Hyakume and Nurarihyon wasn't very friendly; so to renew our relations with him, our elders sent me with as messenger to sign a peace contract. I actually went to his mansion in Fuji but he was no longer there, so I assumed that he made a new one, and based on information I gathered, he is in Edo, but I don't know where."

He looked... annoyed… _'What kind of reaction is this'_ Hinata pouted.

In his opinion, that was quite a story; it also looked like an annoyingly absurd _responsibility_ that karma enjoyed putting on his way. He was neither forced to help her, as he would gain nothing, nor was he serving Nurarihyon because he wanted to, he was only _using him_ to get what he wanted. So he was not going to let that little girl getting on his way.

"Sorry kiddo, I won't." he declared as he got up, and readied himself to leave.

"What… but why?" She got up as well and grabbed his sleeves to stop him.

"I'm on my way to somewhere you see, and the place you want to go to is in the opposite direction. So it's a no." he simply answered.

"Then, just tell me where it is located; I made it all the way here, I can go there!"

"I also refuse. Even though I hate to admit it, he is kind of my master, so I won't be telling his whereabouts to a shady person like you." He freed himself from her and made his way to the main entrance.

Clenching her fists she ran behind him and screamed "The Kyuubi no Kitsune is not at Mt. Hokone anymore!!"

His eyes widened, "What did you...say?

"You heard me clearly."

His eyes dangerously darkened, "How do you know that?"

Hinata flinched, averting her eyes from his, "I-I told you I read some of your memories and I know you are searching for the Kyuubi... And I happened to come across some Yokai on my way here that were talking about him, saying that he would leave Mt. Hokone in a couple of day, and that was two weeks ago."

"Fucking shit!" The Inugami cursed, hitting the wall with his fist.

After a few minutes of heavy silence, she smiled awkwardly "So-"

"In your dreams, chibi." He cut her off before finishing her sentence. He put his hand on the back of his neck as a sign of mental fatigue, "Make sure you don't die on your way home, chibi." He saluted before sliding open the main door.

Biting her lower lip, she blurted out "Then let's make a deal! Take me to Nurarihyon, and I'll tell you the Kyuubi's whereabouts"

As much as Hinata did not want to do it, it was unfortunately her last resort, which was a successful one.

The raven haired man’s eyes widened and he clenched his fists, "If this is some kind of prank, I'll kill you."

"I-I'm not lying I swear!" Hinata defended, raising her head and showing her honesty.

The young man sighted, apparently he wasn't going to get rid of her as soon as he thought, _‘Karma is a bitch.’_

"Alright, just move it and bring your stuff; we're going right away."

"Really? Really of really? I'm so happy thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!" She tried reaching him for a hug of excitement but he blocked her with his hand on her face.

"Just go get your stuff" he growled as a vein popped on his forehead.

"Yes!" She flew, happiness written all over her face.

 _'I can't believe it; he's going to help me! No more sleeping in the cold woods, no more crying out of hunger, no more solitary travel! Karma isn't a bitch after all!'_ She happily thought, as she made it to the room she was in.

Wearing quickly her own furisode, Hinata grabbed her bag and went down in a hurried pace; not knowing that her life was taking a dramatic turn.

As much as helping her was undoubtedly going to be bothersome, he will not lose such an opportunity to use her to get what he wanted. In this life, nothing mattered to him, not even his own life; if he had to give it away to accomplish his ambition he would do it with no regrets. He had nothing to lose, not anymore. Life has taken more than it gave him. This world was not fair. He realized that only after losing everything. So he will finish his life to reach his goals. Obsession or stupidity call it, he will get what he wants.

He looked at her with a wondering expression as she wore her zori at the entryway, how annoyingly beautiful he found her black orbs full of joy as she looked at him.

"Then let's go Inugami-san!" Hinata cheered.

"Sasuke." he whispered.

"Huh?"

"My name is Sasuke,” He said as he started walking, “Uchiha Sasuke, remember it, chibi"

This was _really_ going to be troublesome.

"Heh, with the aura you give and that name, you look kind of cool, you know!"

As she reached him, he looked at her from the corner of his eyes, wondering what was awaiting him.

Is Karma a bitch? Or is it not?

* * *

 

Omake:

"By the way Sasuke," she started after a long silence.

Sasuke? How is it that she is not using honorifics; she kind of looked like a person who would. Not like it bothered him, not at all. He wasn't a person who used honorifics either. It didn't bother him, not at all. His name didn't sound sweet when she said it, not at all. And he was definitely not a tsundere, NOT AT ALL.

"Is it okay that we left the house open like that? I didn't even wash my plates!" She asked with a very concerned look.

"It's fine. It wasn't even my house, so why bother?"

"Oh I see that's w- EHHHHHH! You mean I slept and ate at a house without its original owner knowing? And where are they?" Hinata’s expression twisted, "D-don't tell me... you ate them!!!?" Letting out a horrified scream.

"As if!" The Inugami screamed with an irritated voice, "The house was already empty when I got there, I don't know and I don't care where they are! And why did you think I ate them and not killed them; and who would eat disgusting human flesh!" He said hurrying his walk.

She walked behind him her hand on her chin "I see... you're the kind of person who would trespass on people's proprieties without a problem... Hum! I will add that to my 'Sasuke's weird stuff and habits' book." Hinata said with shining eyes.

"What kind of book is that?! And when did you start it; we know each other for only five minutes!!"

Travelling with her was not going to be easy...

* * *

 

**A/N:**

***Ikimono Gakari – Blue Bird’s lyrics. Shippuden’s 3 rd opening.**

***Amaya: litter. Night Rain, is a girl’s name: as you can guess, I made it Hinata second name.**

***Washitsu: is a room that can be used as a bedroom, living room, dining room or study.**

***Tatami: is a type of mat used as flooring material.**

***Oshiire: large closets used for storage.**

***Fusuma : sliding doors made from wood,  paper or glass.**

***Kotatsu: a low wooden table frame covered by a futon or heavy blanket, upon which a table top sits.**

***Inugami: dog-like beings, often similar to werewolf, are more of divinities than Yokai.**

***Haori: is a traditional sort of hip- or thigh- length kimono-like jacket.**

***Sake: Japanese wine.**

***Fuji: is a city in eastern Shizuoka Prefecture.**

***Kyuubi no Kitsune: litter. Nine Tailed Fox (can be called just kitsune, or kyuubi)**

***Mt. Hokone: is a mountain in Japan, situated south Tokyo.**

***Furisode: is a kimono worn by single women.**

***Zori: Sandals that are worn with kimono.**

***Tsundere: is a Japanese term for a chara development process that describes a person who is initially cold and hostile before showing their warm side over time.**

**I wanted to make it clear that hateful comments do not bother me at all; I write what I want, however I want, if you do not like it, no need to show your childish behavior on my fiction. Well fanfiction websites have been fostering angry and bitter souls since ever; may God have mercy on your miserable souls.**

**As for everyone else, thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**


	3. The Demon Within

**Disclamer: Naruto and Shippuden belong to Masashi Kishimoto. This is a work of fiction, not for profit.**

**Theme song: Within Temptation - A Dangerous Mind.**

**Edited by: Lady Veilchenblau my beta reader on fanfiction.net**

* * *

 

**Chapter 2: The demon within**

_“These flowers are beautiful... don't you agree, Amaya?”_

_“So the one I've been dreaming about was you all along, huh? I should've guessed, since the only person to ever call me that was you, princess.” Hinata smiled at the woman sitting next to her._

_The sun shone like it never had. The grass was lively- dancing with the rhythms of the kind breeze. Hinata felt at ease. When was the last time she had felt like this? She couldn't remember, but at that moment she cared about nothing, she let go of everything despite the many questions she wanted to ask._

_“What's with that ‘princess’? You've never had a problem calling me by my name, much to the elders' annoyance.” The beautiful blonde woman giggled._

_“I miss you, Shion.” Hinata whispered, yet loud enough to be heard._

_“Amaya,” Her expression reflected sadness? “Flowers are one of the most beautiful things in this world. This,” she said as she picked a yellow flower “is what we call a Marigold; beautiful, right?”_

_“Yes, very.”_

_“Despite her beauty, in the language of flowers her name means cruelty, jealousy, grief and pain.” Her eyes began to water, “even the prettiest things can actually be the ugliest. You're still young and naive, you've only seen the ugly side of this world and your pure heart might have been tainted. And that can be what pulls you up or what brings you down.”_

_After a pregnant silence she continued. “Never lose sight of your goals. Ever.”_

_Hinata's eyes widened as her companion started to fade away._

_“Hey...!”_

_“Ah, it looks like my time is up.” Giving a weak smile, she added, “see you next time.”_

_With that, the beautiful scenery was replaced with a battlefield._

_Looking nervously around, she found nothing but blood and corpses._

_Her hands were stained. She started breathing heavily as she remembered exactly what happened. Hatred, blood, death and agony. She couldn't escape. She couldn't forget. She would never be able to forget._

_Trembling, she started noticing movement from the dead corpses strewn around her. Their lifeless eyes made her sick._

_Her demons were hunting her down._

She woke up with a scream. Sasuke woke immediately- alert to any threats.

After declaring them safe, he rushed to her side.

They were sleeping in an old cabin in the woods near Yamakita. Two days of traveling together had already passed, and each night she had wake up screaming.

"What happened?" He asked, trying to sound concerned.

He was never good with comforting people. And this time he cursed himself for it.

His brother's words still reasoned in his head _'power isn't the only thing in the world'_.

She was holding her head with both of her hands, and when he tried to touch her, she flinched away from hm. "I'm fine... it was.. Just a nightmare."

"Are you sure? These nightmares are quite frequent."

"Forget it, please." She turned her head and laid down again, "I want to sleep."

She heard no reply.

-:-:-:-:-

"Ummh! These are delicious" Cried a happy Hinata. "Oba-san, another one please!"

"Right away my dear," responded the old owner of the dango shop, "Here you go." Taking a sneaky peak at Sasuke, she smiled. "Love is a beautiful thing. Enjoy yourselves when you're still young."

Hinata took a moment to consider her words, and then she understood what she meant. She could feel herself getting redder by the minute.

Taking a glimpse at Sasuke, who was silently eating his dango, she noticed how serene his face looked right now.

He was a mysterious man. During their travel, she tried befriending him, but he only pushed her away. She often talked to him, but all he would reply was a simple 'hn'. What did 'hn' mean anyway? 'Yes'? 'No'? 'I don't know'? Or was it his way of telling her 'shut up'?

Having that arrogant attitude didn't help either. Maybe he was a traumatized child with an icy past, and an intriguing character. Yet, as much as she wanted to know more about him, she didn't want to read his mind. It wasn't something she liked doing. People had secrets and fears they want to keep to themselves, she knew that more than anyone else.

"Stop staring at me, chibi."

"I wasn't staring. And quit it with your 'chibi'. It's H.I.N.A.T.A!"

"I think chibi suits you more." He said, teasingly.

She looked at him with puffed out cheeks. "To begin with, I am older than you! I'm over six centuries when you clearly still didn't make it to your second. So respect your elders a little!"

"Fine. Then I should call you grandma, don't you think?" He smirked. Annoying her amused him.

"Why you-" she tried protesting but he put a dango stick in her mouth to shut her up. "Finish this one and let's go, we're only two days away from Edo. We have to make it to the next village for the night."

Finishing the last one, she stood up, grabbed her bag, and ran to catch up with him.

And then, curiosity stuck her.

"Say," she started as she walked next to him "why did you join Nurarihyon's Hyakki Yako?"

He didn't respond.

 _'That was too personal.'_ She thought, regretting asking it immediately.

"It's a long story." he responded, simply.

She looked at him with mixed emotions.

"I am looking for the Kyuubi, as you know, and Nurarihyon is the only one capable of helping me. Of course, I must do some things for him in return." He explained, looking beyond the horizon.

"I see..." She said timidly, recognizing that look on his face. She'd dug into a sensitive spot. And she hated herself for that.

Curiosity _killed_ the cat.

He didn't look angry, but she had obviously reminded him of something painful.

"What about you?"

"Huh?" She looked at him with wide eyes

"When did you awaken?"

After days of travel, he was now willing to know more about her? Or was he just looking for an easy way to change the subject?

"T-Two weeks ago"

"But you said that your clan has been waking up for a few years now?" He raised a brow.

"Yes, that's the truth. It’s just that we didn't all wake up at once. Some woke up a few years ago, some are waking up in this exact moment, and some are still sleeping."

 _'Hanabi, how are you doing right now?'_ She thought.

"So tell me, how much did the yokai world change?" She asked.

"Other clans have risen..." He didn't know what to say exactly, since the current world of yokai was the same when he was born, and he didn't know how things were in her era.

"Maybe you should ask Nurarihyon later, he'd be able to answer you"

"Hum... Yeah, sure." She answered, smiling.

-:-:-:-:-

It was almost sunset when they made it to a little village down Mt. Hakusan, whose inhabitants could be counted with bare hands.

As they walked down its alley, they noticed people looking at them- terrified; women closing their windows violently, parents hiding their children. The hostility was eerily evident.

On the extremity of the main road there was an inn in which they decided to stay for the night.

"Excuse me," Sasuke called, entering the inn.

Hinata stood behind him silently as an old man appeared.

"Welcome," he saluted with a dry tone.

"We would like a room."

"I'm sorry, but we are out of vacancies.” He said, avoiding eye contact.

"But the sign at the entrance says otherwise."

He noticed that the old man was doubtful. Fear was present in his eyes.

"Please mister," Hinata interjected, "we've been travelling all day. We'll be leaving tomorrow. Even a tiny room would do."

He looked at them suspiciously. "You two married?"

"We are," responded Sasuke as he put his hand around her shoulders, which caused Hinata's cheeks to redden

The old man sighed then called over his shoulder, "Hey, Inari, come here!"

"Yes, grandpa?" A young boy appeared from behind a door to the left of the counter.

Upon seeing the customers his attitude changed to one of animosity.

"Take them to room number six."

"But granp-"

"Do it," the older man ordered.

"My name is Tazuna, I am the inn's owner. This is my grandchild, Inari. If you need anything call him. Dinner will be served in half an hour, and after that you can't leave your rooms. There's a strict curfew. Clear?"

"Yes. Thank you." Hinata smiled and bowed her head politely.

"Please, follow me!" Interrupted the young Inari.

Walking behind the boy Hinata noticed that the inn was bigger than she expected. Passing by the garden she saw rabbits running to their hole. Her contemplation was interrupted by the boy's speech. "This is your room."

He slid open the doors to a normal sized room that wasn't very furnished. Again, it was only a little village- it surely didn't have many visitors. For her, it was more than enough.

"I will bring you dinner later. If you want to shower or wash yourselves, the onsen is in front, and if you do then do it now, because leaving your rooms after dinner is prohibited."

Putting her bag on the floor after Inari left, she watched Sasuke analyze their new environment.

"I-I am going to the onsen."

"Hn."

Hinata took a last glimpse at him before closing the doors behind her.

Entering the women's side she took off her clothes to cover herself with a towel and pulled her hair into a messy bun. She made her way down to the onsen and checked its temperature with her tiptoes. When she felt ready she took off the towel and slowly got into the water.

It felt good. No, it felt great! It was absolutely transcendent, unifying, calming, and healing.

It had been a while since she'd been to an onsen. Actually, it had been centuries. Since she woke up she had only had time for reunions with the elders, or taking care of her clansmen. Not that it annoyed her; she gladly followed her obligations. But while she had to look after everyone else, she felt abandoned.

She had to be there for all of them. She was their pillar; but she didn't have a pillar for herself. In the past it was either Shion and Hanabi or Neji. But now... she had no one.

Sighing, she started to swim to wipe away unnecessary thoughts, but it didn't help.

 _'What did you mean, Shion? What, exactly, happened to make you like that? What in the world happened during the sixty days carnage?'_ She thought.

"The prettiest things can actually be the ugliest..." She sighed. "How can that be?"

"It simply can't." A familiar voice replied.

"Ehh! S-Sasuke?" The indigo haired maiden was startled for a second.

"I'm on the other side, idiot."

"Ohh... I see."

After a long silence he continued "There's nothing like that."

"Huh?" She frowned, not quite understanding what he was talking about.

"There aren't beautiful things that are actually ugly, because everything is ugly. No matter how good people are, they all have a demon within. Either they chose to awaken it, or just let it sleep."

After a deep breath he carried on. "Everything is ugly. This world in itself is ugly. Nothing is fair. Everything will go back to darkness."

She felt a cold sweat running down her spine.

"Sasuke..."

"Yeah, I know." he muttered.

Then she let out a stifled cry. Something grabbed her by her feet and shoulders and tried to make her drown, with no warning Sasuke pulled her up.

And there she was, in his hands, in all her naked glory. For a second she thought that embarrassment would kill her.

"You okay?" He asked handing her a towel.

"Mmh…" She mumbled as she hastily pulled the towel around her. "Yokai?"

"No... Ghosts." Sasuke stood firmly glancing around. "Tch... I can't find them. This is why I hate ghosts they have no scent. Let's get out of here."

"Y-yeah..." She shyly walked behind him, noticing that he had a towel around his waist.

 _"Thank God... I thought he was naked"_ For a second she turned even redder. God knows why....

* * *

 

Omake:

_With no warning Sasuke pulled her up._

_And there she was in his hands in all her naked glory. For a second she thought that embarrassment would kill her._

.........

"Cuuuuuut! Hey, you perverts!!! Why did you stop, the act isn't over yet!!" An angry marshmallow with glasses, and rabbit ears from behind the camera cried out.

"Seriously if you keep it up just go and get a room." She added fixing her glasses

"D-director-san!!" A very embarrassed Hinata cried.

"Hn." responded Sasuke.

Did he just say 'yes'??

"We've made it this far so keep it up don't make Hinata even more uneasy Sasuke. Making her act with only a towel around her was very hard you know."

Yeah, Hinata wasn't naked; it was all fake, the vapor made it easy to trick the viewers.

The marshmallow sighed, "When she didn't faint you wanted to make out…"

"W-w-what are you t-talking about director-san!!!"

"The way you just screamed, was very moe Hinata. I believe Sasuke just had a nosebleed." Smirked the marshmallow.

"Eeeeeh!!"

Sasuke turned his face.

"Now, we have to re-do the scene and.... LOOK AT THE TIME!!!! We have to finish quickly or Lady Veilchenblau will be angry at me!!" The marshmallow cried, letting out a scream of horror.

Sitting on a chair, a book in a hand, and tea in the other, responded a living beauty, "Oh no, I'm super patient so don't worry about sticking to times." Smiling like an angel.

"Don't say it so sweetly pleaaaase! You'll make them even lazier!!"

"Actually... I think the lazy one here is you," Said as a matter of fact Lady Veilchenblau.

"You.... serious?"

* * *

 

**A/N:**

***Yamakita: is a town located in Kanagawa Prefecture.**

***Dango: is a Japanese dumpling and sweet made from mochiko (rice flour).**

***Mt. Hakusan: is a potentially active volcano, located on the borders of Gifu, Fukui and Ishikawa prefectures in Japan. Along with Mount Tate and Mount Fuji, it is one of Japan's "Three Holy Mountains"**

***Onsen: hot springs.**

***Moe: is a Japanese slang word, and loanword that refers to feelings of strong affection.**

****This work can also be found on my Fanfiction and Wattpad accounts under the username "Blaxis."** **

****Thank you for reading.** **

 


	4. Trust

**Disclamer: Naruto and Shippuden belong to Masashi Kishimoto. This is a work of fiction, not for profit.**

**Theme song: Metallica - Nothing Else Matters.**

**Edited by: Lady Veilchenblau my beta reader on fanfiction.net**

* * *

 

**Chapter 3: Trust**

If someone was to describe Uchiha Sasuke, the first thing that would come to their mind would be _arrogant asshole_. If he considered this himself, then... yeah. He was kind of arrogant. Not that he had that kind of attitude on purpose: it was just his nature.

Receiving envious or frightened looks from people was something he was used to. And he didn't care one bit.

People always seemed to assume that he looked down on them. Which was actually true. And why? Because he could.

He wasn't one to care.

He wasn't one to worry.

He wasn't one to feel.

Feelings... Huh?

He had buried his emotions long ago when he found out about the dark side of this world.

Unfortunately, he still remembers.

He remembers those despicable moments of joy when his brother looked after him. When his mother read him stories before he slept. When his father would take him to fish with him.

The happiness he felt by simply eating together with his reunited family.

All that melancholy surfaced after meeting a beautiful maiden who reminded him so much of his brother... who reminded him so much of his past self.

Those big black orbs reflecting happiness at the simplest of pleasures.

For him, such happiness was impossible to attain.

For him, such happiness was prohibited.

Long ago he forbid himself to _feel_ , because it did nothing but cause sadness.

For him, that girl was naive. How could she smile like an innocent child, when she was drowning in her own darkness?

Wanted to make peace with Nurarihyon? Ironic. How could they just forget the past and live like nothing happened? It surely wasn't going to be a _friendly talk_. Again, this was none of his business. He didn't care, truly; but a certain indigo haired person made him _want_ to care.

He doesn't know when, why or how this idea popped in his head. He barely even knew the girl.

When he heard her stifled cry, he rushed to her side. At that exact moment he let go of everything.

Having her in his arms made him feel a warmth that wasn't foreign to him.

It felt... just like his mother's.

Every night she would wake up screaming; and every time he wished he could do something for her. But it was all in vain.

It was almost as if she was made out of glass, ready crack at any moment, and he wanted to be there to fix her before she shattered.

He wasn't ready to feel such a thing. To _c_ _are_. How was that even possible for someone like _him_?

He tried convincing himself that it was only because she was a precious tool to attain his goals.

_Nothing but a tool._

And to make sure he wouldn't question himself again, he abstracted himself from any contact with her.

He shouldn't- no. He _mustn’t_ socialize with her.

In a battle between mind and heart, it was generally the latter that won.

After he changed into the kimono that had been provided by the inn, he walked to their room. By that time Inari had already set up their dinner on a kotatsu.

"Enjoy your meal. Do not hesitate to call me if you need anything." He bowed and left.

The food was nothing fancy; it was only a little village, after all. There were two bowls of miso soup, a plate of takoyaki, onigiri, makizushi, two saucers of soja and a bottle of sake.

He sat down under the kotatsu and decided to wait for Hinata. The same Hinata he had seen at her most vulnerable. It was for only mere seconds, but he had _seen_ her. Her small body, the droplets of water running down her chest, her messy wet hair and most importantly her face. Cheeks flushed pink with embarrassment and her large eyes full of uneasiness and timidity. She was mesmerizing.

He shook his head and started eating, refusing to let such an idea get the best of him.

After all, he had decided to not socialize with her. And that was what he would do.

-:-:-:-:-

Sasuke had seen her nude. It was the worst thing that could've happened. Now, she didn't know how to face him.

She was embarrassed. Though she was already pink and clammy due to the onsen, she felt her face reddening even more.

Was it even possible?

Yet somehow, she didn't mind it. Touching her face with both hands she closed her eyes. His touch was electrifying and, for some reason, she had felt safe.

She shook her head. Such feelings were out of the question.

She shouldn't. She _mustn't_. For all she knew, he could turn into a dreadful enemy.

She had made a horrible mistake trying to befriend him; days of loneliness had made her eager to speak with someone, anyone. How could she have been so blind?

Hinata cursed under her breath; she felt so irresponsible.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror. _'You were right Shion, I must never lose sight of my goals- ever.'_

Making her way to their room, she clenched her fists. ‘ _N_ _o more playing around,’_ she thought ‘ _because I have more than one life in my hands.’_

Sliding open the door, she found him sitting next to the window, looking longingly at the moon and drinking sake.

He slowly turned his head towards her. Their eyes locked.

She thought, for a second, that she was suffocating; she was drowning in his gaze.

After a moment he declared "the food is on the kotatsu, I already ate. Serve yourself."

Sliding the door closed she made herself comfortable under the kotatsu.

It felt like a _déjà vu_ ; but this time he was colder. After a second of reflection she decided that it didn't matter. Once they reached their destination they would part ways for good.

After a moment Inari came in and cleared the table, leaving both yokai as silent as ever. "Please remember, under no circumstances leave the room."

In Hinata’s opinion he was a weird kid, in an especially weird place.

Deciding not to talk about their little _incident_ or the ghosts, she decided to sleep.

As it was a room intended for a couple, the futons were next to each other; so she took one and pulled it some distance. Entering the futon, she whispered, "Night."

She didn't know if he responded, because she fell into deep sleep right after.

Looking at her pensively, he drank his last sip of sake and headed out.

-:-:-:-:-

Uchiha Sasuke wasn’t one bound by rules. In fact, he disliked rules, and enjoyed breaking them.

This time was no different. He didn’t care about the curfew. And to avoid getting caught, he decided that jumping from roof to roof was best. The sky was clear on that mid-autumn night and the moon shone beautifully; the streets were lifeless and all lights were off, as if a tempest was coming.

He located a nice spot near the river. Lying himself down on the grass, he didn’t notice a bright light forming behind him.

-:-:-:-:-

After waking up from a horrible nightmare, Hinata noticed her companion’s absence. She sighed, _‘seriously, even though they warned us!’_ And then a sudden strange voice pulled her out of her thinking,

“Your friend went out a few hours ago”.

Alarmed, she jumped back, "Who are you and what do you want?" She looked around frantically, trying to find the figure in the darkness.

"I need your help." He pleaded.

"H-huh...?"

-:-:-:-:-

Taking notice of something strange happening behind him, the Inugami swiftly positioned himself to attack.

"Hn, so you decided to show yourselves." He smirked, revealing his sharp claws and fangs.

Unlike other yokai, Inugami could easily destroy ghosts. A bite or a scratch was enough to annihilate them.

He jumped and started the purge; he decided on quick scratches to decrease their chances of attacking him back; even powerless yokais like them could be deadly.

 _'Never underestimate your enemy, no matter whom or what they are.'_   Was what his brother had taught him, and he had never forgotten.

-:-:-:-:-

“My name is Kaiza,” started the ghostly figure, “Inari’s stepfather; I died a few weeks ago. Murdered by Goryos.”

“Eh?”

“Originally I was an Ikiryo. The night I was murdered I was outside of my body. I could’ve easily got it back, but it was already discovered by the villagers and was burned during my funeral. People here are superstitious of the _living-dead,”_ he chuckled, before his tone became serious. “The Goryos are plotting something big, and I need your help to stop them.”

He was a tall musclular man with spiky short black hair, tanned skin and an x-shape scar on his chin.

His black eyes reflected sadness and determination, but it wasn’t enough to jump to conclusions.

"Why would I believe you?" Hinata asked in a wary tone.

"You are an Ayakashi from a noble lineage of sensor type, right? And for some reason... it seems that you don't have all of your powers. This is why you are travelling with that Inugami right? A weakened pure blood is a delicious prey for other Ayakashis, after all."

She flinched from his remark. ' _How did he..?'_

"You believe me, and you don't know why. I think you should follow your instincts."

_'Seems like I'm not going to get any sleep tonight.'_

"Let's do it.” She said, getting up, "but first, we have to find Inari-kun!"

"I will take you there, don't worry."

-:-:-:-:-

"Tch, you are tenacious scumbags."

Sasuke had already taken down more than he could remember, but it seemed like there was no end to them.

Taking a jump back he readied himself to attack again. But, suddenly, they disappeared.

"What the hell?"

-:-:-:-:-

"Inari-kun! Hey, Inari-kun!" Hinata whispered softly as she shook a sleeping Inari.

"Huh... What?"

Hinata put her hand on his mouth to prevent him from shouting out.

"We're in danger. I need you to alert the villagers and run from the eastern gate"

"What? Explain yourself!"

"We don't have the time for that! Trust me."

"Why would I?"

"Because... I'm Kaiza's friend"

His eyes widened "How-"

"Please do as I said, we don't have time!"

"O-okay" Looking at her dumbfounded, he got up with difficulty, sleepily trying to find his balance before running out of his room.

She turned to face Kaiza, "Now, let's go to the shrine"

"I didn’t know we were friends." He joked, to soothe the air.

"I needed Inari to trust me. It was what I had to say. By trusting you, he can trust me."

"So… does that mean that I trust you?" He asked.

"I don’t know. Do you?" She responded, racing to make it to the shrine.

"Maybe I do."

Trust was such a big word. It either makes something, or destroys it…

_"Say, Shion…"_

_"Hum?"_

_"Do you trust Nurarihyon?" Asked a young Hinata._

_Shion, put her cup of tea down and turned to face Hinata. "Yes, I do."_

_"Why?" She asked, somewhat perplexed._

_"Because he proved to be trustworthy." The princess responded calmly, waiting for the young girl's next question._

_"How trustworthy?"_

_"I would leave my life in his hands."_

_The younger Yokai frowned at her statement._

_"Listen, Hinata. Don’t give your trust to anyone, and don’t trust easily; they have to earn it. In this world we are wanted for our power only, you have to choose your allies wisely. "_

_Looking at her, wondering, she asked, "So should I trust him, too?"_

_"I don’t know. Should you?" She smiled._

_"Oh! And what about the Kitsune?" She added._

_"I… don’t know."_

_"But… I thought you two were friends?"_

_Patting Hinata’s head gently she murmured "That is a story for another time."_

"Hey, are you listening?"

Hinata was brought back from her reverie only to find herself standing in front of the village’s shrine; surrounded by armed ghosts. It didn’t look good. And she was sure that they didn’t have a chance against them.

Without warning they were attacked.

A blade was making its way to her neck- she was done for almost immediately.

Feeling herself being lifted, the Hyakume opened her eyes to find herself rescued, in the arms of her companion.

"S-Sasuke!"

“You’ okay?” He asked.

“Y-yes… thank you.” She muttered, cheeks reddening.

After putting her down and taking a close look at their opponents, he deduced that they weren’t the same creatures that he had fought earlier. "What kind of ghosts are these?”

"Goryo." Kaiza supplied.

Sasuke turned with a raised brow at the unfamiliar voice.

"He's a friend,” Hinata began, “I trust him."

He eyed her for a moment. "I don't. But there's no time to talk about that now." They turned to face the enemy.

"The Goryos were responsible for many deaths in this village, and they have been collecting souls for an unknown reason."

"That is no normal behavior of a Goryo; aren't they supposed to be vengeful spirits?" Apparently things were getting out of hand, the spiritual power coming out from the shrine was too great, and there was no telling how many spirits were trapped in there.

"That's where things get complicated."

"What do you mean?" Asked Sasuke.

"They seem to be controlled by something, or someone." Admitted the ghost.

"How is that even possible?" 

"I was killed a few weeks ago by them, but since I am actually an Ikiryo, I had a conscience and was able to run before being trapped in the shrine. Since then I kept an eye on them, and realized that it wasn't just random killing; they were killing people with high spiritual power. For that, they have been using a red stone. I don't know what it is, exactly, but it's important to them."

"Then what should we do?" Interjected the princess.

"They aren't attacking, which means they're sure they won't stand a chance against us."

"Which means they'll try to run with the red stone, leaving a few behind to slow us down." Finished Sasuke.

"Exactly. And to prevent a catastrophe, we need to break the red stone."

"And you have a plan?"

"Hinata-san could you send your eyes around?"

"Yes, I can." She responded firmly.

"Good, you stay behind and inform Sasuke-san about his surroundings while he makes a path for me. It will be easy for me to slip through the barrier of the shrine and get the red stone. And then it will be you, Sasuke-san, who will destroy it."

"I see, it would be easier that way."

"Why are you helping us?" Asked Sasuke.

"Actually, the correct question is: why are you helping me? This is my village that I am protecting. You two can just leave right now, nothing is holding you down."

"I... I want to help." Responded Hinata hesitantly.

"I can't leave without her."

For some reason, her heart skipped a beat, even though his statement was mere fact. She was necessary to him, just as he was to her.

"Well then, shall we do it?"

-:-:-:-:-

"Shrines don't shine during the night... right?" Asked a scared villager.

"That must be something quite serious; we have to find the priest!"

"H-hey, did you see the girl with indigo hair and black eyes? She's not from the village." interrupted a tiny voice.

"Inari? No, I didn't. Anyway, don't worry, just go and hide with the rest in the woods. It's too dangerous here.”

"Oh, I saw her earlier!" Exclaimed the scared man.

"Where?"

"She was... running towards the shrine..."

Upon hearing him, Inari ran as fast as he could.

-:-:-:-:-

Black orbs were floating around the shrine, its light starting to fade little by little.

"Can you see them, Hinata-san?"

Sitting with her legs crossed, hands forming the rat sign, eyes closed and body emitting a black aura, Hinata spoke. "There are six inside the shrine... thirteen in front of us."

 _‘So, this is a hyakume’s power.'_ Sasuke mused.

"Will you be able to get me in, Sasuke-san?"

"Don't underestimate me. Just stay behind me, and make sure not to get in my way" He replied, smirking.

This time, his opponents were stronger than their predecessors. He chose to act cautiously. A transformation would be best.

Without breaking a sweat, his teeth grew viciously sharp into fangs, his fingers and toenails into razor sharp claws; part of his skin was covered with white fur, a muzzle morphing over his lower face and his eyes now an animalistic yellow. He wasn’t human anymore. Or rather, he wasn’t human to begin with.

Hinata’s eyes widened in stupefaction. _‘He maintained his human features… Why didn’t he transform completely? Is he perhaps…?’_

"LET’S GO!"

-:-:-:-:-

 _Inari was sitting in the same spot where he had sat a few years ago. It was an autumn day curiously just like_ that _day. It was the same occasion; but for a different person._

_Incense was burned in front of the altar. He watched people pay respect to the person inside the casket, and offer incense._

_The first time he had experienced this was at his own mother’s funeral; he didn’t exactly remember that day, because he had spent almost all of it crying._

_The second time was Kaiza’s funeral. He didn’t shed a tear, because at that moment he hated him, for lying._

_He said he would always be by his side. But he had left, just like that. Just like his father who he never knew, and his beloved mother._

_He didn’t forgive him for that._

Running through the village’s road, Inari clenched his fists, remembering a man’s _betrayal_.

-:-:-:-:-

 _‘Two on your left and one behind you!’_ Hinata voiced in Sasuke’s mind.

Turning swiftly as a tornado, he scratched the three opponents, making his way to the shrine with Kaiza close behind him.

 _‘Three in front of you and one coming from above!’_ Even if her powers were limited, she did her best to help. Yet, she was already starting to sweat, it was bothersome. _‘Damn it, everyone is doing their best and here I am…’_   The dull ache of pain started to become more physical than mental.

Falling on one knee, she tried to keep her floating eyes opened. Fortunately, they were almost at the shrine.

Moving carefully, Kaiza became more anxious about the situation, and didn’t feel Sasuke grabbing his materialized arm and pull him forwards

Kaiza had gotten in, true, but the situation hadn't improved from earlier. They were now both surrounded.

_‘Don’t panic, Sasuke! We’ll get them.’_

_‘I don’t want to hear it from you.’_ He smirked, _‘you’re already worn out!’_

 _‘Don’t be rude! I can still fight!’_ She reprimanded him.

In a moment of absence, scowling at his remark, she didn't notice a Goryo aiming for her head with a kama.

Sasuke skipped a beat, his eyes widened- he wouldn’t make it.

Avoiding the attack the last minute didn’t spare her shallow injury. She dove across the ground, distancing herself from the spirit. Hyakume could do nothing about ghosts.

Luckily, Sasuke destroted it before it could attack her again.

They were in a difficult situation.

Meanwhile, inside the shrine Kaiza took possession of the sacred sword of the shrine and cut through the unwanted spirits. Approaching the altar, he found what the Goryos were protecting, the _mysterious red stone._ Without hesitation he reached for it and swallowed it, and lost balance due to the high power that started to stir in his stomach, _‘I have to make it outside…’_

For Inari, it was a sight which he was sure he would never see again; his mouth and eyes wide. For a second he thought he was dreaming; in front of him were what _seemed_ like ghosts, fighting the two travelers that had stopped by their inn. He lost track of the happenings as he saw a familiar figure coming out of the shrine, _‘no… that is impossible…!’_   His _father_ was standing a short distance from him. He watched him throw the sacred sword of their village to the raven haired man.

“This is…!” Sasuke’s eyes widened.

“The red stone is within me, I swallowed it so that you can destroy it,” he panted heavily, and then cried out, “HURRY, DO IT!”

“But…” Hinata knew what it meant.

The boy started running to the battlefield, but was stopped by Hinata; she held him tightly to prevent him from getting close to the danger, which caused the boy to struggle against her. “DAD!!” He couldn’t lose him, not again.

“Be strong, Inari. Live on.” The man smiled warmly before being pierced by Sasuke.

There was a high pitched explosion.

The air felt suddenly light for both yokais, due to the strong spiritual power vanishing; they were out of danger.

Inari fell to his knees watching the scene of destruction as tears started flowing down his cheeks.

"Cry for him, mourn him, and then grow strong like he asked you to. He loved you very much, and you shall never forget that!"

Hearing her say what he had always wanted to hear, Inari jumped up and hugged her tightly.

"Inari!" Tazuna appeared, running toward his grandson, "are you alright? What in the world were you thinking coming here?" He cried in a reproaching tone, taking him in his arms while looking at both yokai doubtfully.

"Don’t, grandpa! They… helped us."

Before explanations could be made, the village elders, accompanied with priests, made their _late_ appearance.

The sight wasn’t very appealing. The shrine was half demolished, and two suspicious persons who were dirty and injured were standing next to Inari and Tazuna.

"What the devil happened here? And who are they? "

"Maybe other evil spirits. What do we do, priest?"

Unpleasant murmurs followd this.

"These two were occupying a room in my inn, and during the crisis they turned out to be Onmyojis and helped us."

"Onmyoji? Seriously? " Murmured a voice.

"Incredible, it’s my first time meeting real ones!"

In an instant unpleasant statements were hushed by a wave of joy and appeasement. Meanwhile the yokais and Inari were astonished by Tazuna’s words

"Grandpa…"

"Stop taking nonsense and help them, can’t you see that they’re injured?" Tazuna said in an annoyed tone.

"Oh, yes, Tazuna-san! Please, follow us!"

Having received first aid, the two had been left alone in the room they shared in Tazuna’s inn. Inari appeared, with a tray of tea service and dango.

Rubbing her injured cheek, the princess watched Inari serve tea.

"I-I," mumbled Inari, catching both yokai’s attention, "THANK YOU VERY MUCH!" He exclaimed and bowed suddenly. "We are complete strangers, upon your arrival here I was very rude to both of you; and yet, you helped me and my village; we shall always be grateful!"

"It was nothing, really, Inari-kun" Hinata replied softly, flashing a genuine smile, which made both boys blush slightly; she was definitely a beautiful woman.

"It wasn’t _nothing_ , it was a great deal; I don’t know what you are but, we really are grateful." Tazuna added as he appeared on the door, "thinking about it, you two didn’t present yourselves earlier."

"I am Hyuga Hinata, pleased to meet you."

"Uchiha Sasuke."  Simply stated the Dog Spirit.

 _‘Hinata… a beautiful name for a beautiful maiden!’_   Thought the little boy.

"The pleasure’s all mine. Well, have a good night... or what is left of it, at least. Come on now, Inari."

"Ah! Yes… Good night!" Inari bowed again and the two left, leaving both yokai alone.

After a silence filled with only munching and sipping, Hinata spoke smoothly. "Thank you for helping me, _again_."

"Hn."

"But," for a certain reason, Sasuke never liked what came after a ‘but’, "why did you entrust me with your back? Do you… trust me?"

It was a question that had been consuming her; how a person like _him_ would trust someone like _her_.

"No, I don’t. It was a critical situation; either I died because I trusted you, or because I didn't trust you." His words were razor sharp; but, somehow, they didn’t affect her. It was exactly what she had expected from him.

"I suppose that makes sense."

Somehow, she felt that things had changed between them. For the better.

-:-:-:-:-

"You should’ve stayed another day!"

"Thank you, but we really have to go." Voiced Hinata as she, along with Sasuke. were standing the village’s main entrance. The entire village, it seemed, had come to see them off.

Shyly, Inari approached Hinata and handed her a bento box, "for your travels; there aren’t many tea stops from here to Edo."

Happily accepting his present, she pressed her soft lips to his right cheek in gratitude, which made the boy blush heavily.

"May your travels be safe." Stated Tazuna from afar, for which Hinata responded by raising her hand, signaling their departure.

 

* * *

 

"Excuse me young boy, I’d like another cup of tea." Requested a man, unidentifiable because of his long black robe.

"Here you go, sir!"

"Tell me young boy," started the man, "what happened to the village’s shrine?"

"Ah that! Well it was haunted by evil spirits, but they were destroyed by two travelers!" Inari happily replied.

"Onmyojis?"

"I’m not very sure if they were…"

"And who are they?"

"Hinata-san and Sasuke-san, they are good people!" Exclaimed the youngster.

"I am sure they are."

As soon as Inari left, a smirk formed in the man’s lips. ‘ _Hinata and Sasuke? Onmyojis aren’t capable of destroying master’s experiments and the red stone, which means they are definitely Ayakashi. Interesting…’_

Things were becoming interesting as much as they were bothersome.

 

* * *

 

Omake:

Being powerless was beyond bothersome.

According to _granny_ , Hinata was to have her full powers back by the second full moon. It had been two weeks since she had woken up, and twelve days since the last full moon, which meant she had to wait three more days.

It was the main reason she was travelling with Uchiha Sasuke; her powers were reduced to some mind reading and harmless spells.

She sighed heavily; why did _that old woman_ sent her alone on such a dangerous journey? Firstly, she was powerless, she could’ve died easily! Secondly, there was no telling what may happen once she met with Nurarihyon, a former enemy.

She was lucky enough to have met a generous bird yokai that took her with him to Fuji, where Nariraihyon’s past mansion was. Alone, on foot, it would’ve taken her at least three days. And it was quite stressful when she found it… destroyed. From the little data she could assemble, she found out he was in Edo.

The sad part was, how was she going to get there? It took her three painful days to make it to Gotemba, where she met Sasuke. Since then, her journey had gotten a little bit easier. Two days after that they were at Yamakita, and the same evening made it to a little village down Mt. Hakusan.

One day after that, they finally arrived to Edo.

And neither of them truly knew what awaited them.

* * *

 

**A/N:**

**The locations and distances in the omake are true; well nowadays it wouldn't take that long on foot, and Hinata's situation was explained here.**

**Thank you for reading, ciao.**


	5. Nurarihyon the Second

**Disclamer: I don't own Naruto or Shippuden.**

**Theme song: Breaking Benjamin - Dance With The Devil.**

**Edited by: Lady Veilchanblau, my beta reader on fanfiction.net**

* * *

 

**Chapter 4: Nurarihyon the Second**

 

Walking cautiously down the roads of Edo, Hinata couldn’t keep herself from being amazed by the wonders of time.

In her era, the capital was Kamakura; and not in a million years she would’ve thought that the little –now big– village of Edo would be a Capital for the Japanese Empire.

And, Oh! How much she loathed the sight!

Her tiny shadow reflecting on the road; walking behind the Dog Spirit, she was shoved right and left. The crowd was lively; red light flashed in her face, loud voices were heard; she couldn't feel herself anymore.

Was it normal? What _was_ normal, anyway?

It was howling.

The movement was howling.

The district was howling red-light.

And she… She was fading out within the congestion.

What exactly happened here?

What exactly am I doing?

She opened her eyes as she felt a light tap.

"What are you doing? I told you to stay close to me." He grunted in annoyance.

"I-I..."

"Come on." He grabbed her hand tightly, _protectively_.

It was warm.

In a moment that felt like forever for the princess, she squeezed his hand and followed him.

Opening her eyes, brought back to reality, she analyzed her surroundings more closely.

It was almost ironic; even if they disappeared, nothing had changed, the town was stirring, and people were flowing. Seasons returned and repeated over again.

Time waited for no one.

After a long and silent walk, they stopped in front of a drugstore when a young man, wearing a blue traditional kimono and a bandanna, came out of it. Upon seeing the Inugami he exclaimed "Oh, you're back earlier than expected, kiddo!"

“Hn, inquisitive as usual, Genma.” Responded the Uchiha.

“And you’re cagey. As usual,” he sighed, "and this is...?"

"Nurarihyon's guest." Sasuke stated.

Genma raised a brow. "To my knowledge he isn't expecting anyone; and I wasn't told of a last minute meeting…"

"This is a special matter; tell him Hyuga Hinata of the Hyakume clan wants to see him."

"Hya-" He raised both eyesbrows in stupefaction, "you serious?"                       

When the Inugami didn't respond, the other one sighed "Nura-sama is absent, he will be back tomorrow,” turning to Hinata, he smiled, “my name is Genma Shiranui, pleased to meet you, young lady.”

“T-the pleasure is all mine.”

“Well, you must be tired. Please, come on in!”

Walking into the drugstore, Hinata timidly walked behind Sasuke. Upon reaching the back of the shop Genma offered her a room. "You can have this room, the washroom is down the hall and if you need anything you can find me in the store."

"Thank you..." Hinata muttered, inspecting the room as she stepped into it, not noticing when Genma titled his head at Sasuke.

"I have some things to do, make yourself comfortable, I'll be back later." Sasuke said to her as he slid the door closed.

Walking back to the entrance of the store, the Inugami found his comrade sitting in a chair, looking at him pensively.

"So?" The latter started.

"It's a long story." Shrugged the Uchiha as he leaned on the wall, crossing his arms.

"We have the whole evening, you know."

Sighing, Sasuke started narrating the past events, leaving in the shadows his deal with the Hyakume.

"She was a lost puppy begging for help."

Genma resisted the urge to snort at his statement _'you're a puppy too, y'know!'_

"Can we trust her?" He asked, closing his eyes as he leaned on his chair.

"I don't know, the other kid will decide."

"You're a kid too," he chuckled "and that definitely isn't a proper thing to call your Master; if Anko was to hear you she'd chop off you head."

At the mention of that woman Sasuke shivered; dealing with an angered Anko was something he'd gladly avoid.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Making herself comfortable in the room that was provided for her, Hinata started changing clothes while thinking about her mission.

The hard part was to come; her meeting with Nurarihyon would decide the fate of her clan.

_"You are the chosen one, Hinata. You must fulfill your obligation." An old woman stated dryly, "And remember, failure will not be tolerated."_

_"Yes, Chiyo Baa-sama."_

And still, her mission wasn't even properly detailed, ‘ _you must find nurarihyon_ ’, and then what? Declare war? Beg for mercy?

She sighed, it was not going to be easy; either way, her sole purpose was to protect her clansmen, _at any cost._

Hyuga Hinata was determined to do so.

-:-:-:-:-

"So," Started a redheaded man, "what are you going to do?"

The blond stared at him, confusion written all over his face.

"To think that you're the boss..." The redhead sighed to himself.

"Huh? What did I just hear, Gaara?" The blond narrowed his eyes.

"Don't be foolish, I'm not naive. Uchiha Sasuke is back. What are you going to do?" He asked, gazing sternly at his companion. "Naruto?"

-:-:-:-:-

_‘Well, I’m off! I have things to deal with; there’s nothing to eat so, I’ll bring something on the way back. Behave yourselves, kids!’ Genma winked before leaving._

What was she supposed to do? It was dusk and he wasn’t back yet. And being stuck with a certain raven haired man was not entertaining at all.

She sighed, again; she was in _supposed_ enemy territory, they wouldn’t let her wander alone. Someone had to keep an eye on her.

Getting irritated by the calm, she decided to head to the store where her travel companion was. She found him laying on chair legs laid on the cash register; boredom evident on his face.

Sitting on a chair at the corner of the shop she watched the orange sky that reminded her, oh! _So much_ of _that bloody night_. Not liking the heavy silence that led her to think of things she wanted to forget, she spoke up. “Hum… what is Genma-san duty?”

Looking at her from the corner of his eyes he responded nonchalantly. “You could say that he is the gate keeper. He is a Tsuchigumo, so he can easily guard every corner with his spiders.”

She gave no response, but her mouth formed a small ‘o’ to express her amazement.

-:-:-:-:-

Entering a small restaurant, Genma ordered then made his way to a table where a middle aged man was seated. He wore a simple, light-colored kimono and a haori. His had dark hair was tied up into a spiky ponytail.

“Hi there, Shikaku-san,” Genma smiled, “thanks for meeting me.”

“You said it was an urgent matter.” Responded the other.

“It is,” Sighed the other, “a Hyakume wants to meet Nura-sama.”

His companion raised a brow, then sighed, “It was meant to happen one day.”

“So, what do we do?”

“Well Nura-sama will decide when he comes back tomorrow. I will inform him.” Stated Shikaku, “anyway, how did that Hyakume find you?”

“She met Sasuke on the road. And, after some strange incidents, they ended up travelling together.”

“So it’s a woman.”

“A young girl, actually.”

“Shion?” He asked, a bit hesitant.

“Based on the _first_ ’s description, she doesn’t resemble the late princess.”

“I see.”

As Genma’s order was brought to him he bid his goodbye to his friend and made his way to his house. Leaving the other drinking Sake, while thinking about the sudden turn of events.

Bothersome.

-:-:-:-:-

An awkward silence was filling the room where Hinata was sitting with her companion and her host.

The two of them were playing Go, and she was just sitting there awkwardly. After finishing their dinner, Genma had proposed the game, and Sasuke was not one to refuse.

“Your loss.” Laughed Genma. “Not bad, you’re improving. But you’re one hundred years too early to beat me at it.”

“Hn, and you’re a thousand years too early to beat Shikaku-san at it.” Snorted Sasuke.

“What does Shikaku-san have to do with this?” The Tsuchigumo turned to their guest, “you’re sure you don’t want to play against me, Hinata-chan?”

“Yes, I’m sure. It’s been a while for me, I think I've lost my touch.” She smiled apologetically, while a spider made its way down on Genma’s shoulder.

After a few minutes of silence, he announced, “Nura-sama accepted your request; he will be expecting you at his mansion tomorrow afternoon.”

She was now one step closer to her aim.

-:-:-:-:-

The man said mansion, but it clearly didn't look like one; not one worthy of Nurarihyon, at least.

After a night that seemed eternal, Hinata was escorted by Sasuke to his lord’s mansion; she was getting more nervous as the minutes passed.

"Are you sure this is it?"

"For the third time, yes, this is his mansion." He sighed and walked through the main gate before turning his head, "not coming?"

Blinking timidity, she followed him and looked around her. It was a normal house, the entrance was small, compared to the previous mansions.

They were welcomed by two guards, “welcome Sasuke, we were notified of your visit by Shikaku-san. Please, come on in.” Welcomed one of the two, he had long black hair and dark eyes, and wore a simple blue kimono; his most noticeable feature, for Hinata, was a strip of bandage running across the bridge of his nose and a light-colored marking on his chin.

Upon seeing the young woman eying them, the two men bowed “I am Kotetsu Kogane, and this is Izumo Kamikuzi, we are the guards of Nura-sama’s household; please enjoy your stay here, miss.”

“Thank you.”

Stepping inside the main gates, they soon arrived to the house’s doors. On the contrary of the entrance, the house was lively, and in a blink her companion was surrounded by women, hugging and _fighting_ for him.

Yes, literally fighting; Hinata found the sight terrifying.

“Sasuke-kun, you’re back!”

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Am I dreaming or did you get taller _and_ cuter?”

Annoyance was evident on the latter's face. The questions piled up until a woman snapped,

"Leave him be!"

She was wearing a revealing purple kimono embroidered with pink sakura flowers that was exposing her gorgeous curves. Her hair was purple-black held in a fanned-ponytail, and her light brown pupil-less eyes reflected annoyance.

She was _beautiful,_ Hinata noted.

"Anko-dono!"

"Give him space to breathe, he's only just arrived." She sighed, and then looked at Hinata, "besides, he has a guest."

All gazes turned to the princess; much to her discomfort. It seemed that they hadn't noticed her at all until now.

"Who's that?" One asked.

"Oh! What a cute little creature you've got there!"

"What Ayakashi are you?"

A flurry of questions was suddenly thrown at the princess.

"Um… I…" Getting the entire attention of a group of graceful women didn’t make thing any better for the Hyakume.

A vein popped on Anko's forehead. Being ignored was what she hated the most, and she found that punching the wall next to her and making a hole in it was a good way to express her anger; earning her fellow ayakashi frightened looks.

"I-it was good to see you 'Ske-kun!"

Everyone left the hall gulping, leaving behind nothing but silence between the three.

"Hello to you too, Sasuke!" Smiled the woman in a creepy way.

Sasuke sighed at the commotion. "Hey, Anko."

“So this is Nura-sama’s guest? Quite a beauty, isn't she Sasuke?”

“It’s not what you think it is.” Growled the young man, scratching the back of his head.

“Mitarashi Anko. Nice to meet you little one.”

“H-Hyuga Hinata, and I’m not all that little, actually...” She mumbled.

“Ahahahaha! She really is just as Genma described her!” Laughed Anko.

“Lousy.” The latter snapped; which earned him a swift clout to the head.

“Hey-” his words died in his throat when he saw her plastic evil smile that gave him goose bumps. Clearing his throat he resumed “I believe Nurarihyon- _sama_ is waiting, we should get going.”

“Oh my, you’re right!” Without hesitation she put her arm around Hinata’s shoulder and smiled, “well, see ya later!”

Making her way past him, the princess in her arms, she answered Sasuke’s unspoken question, “I’m taking her to meet Nura-sama; you’re not exactly needed here, so…” She turned her hand in the air nonchalantly.

He annoyingly watched the two women leave the hall. Anko’s bold and unladylike manners had always annoyed him; she had always been able to get on his nerves, no matter the situation.

She was a hot headed tomboy, a loud mouth, stubborn, and would usually act without thinking.

Despite her _many_ flaws, Sasuke learned to respect her as she became his master years ago to help him control his powers... especially on full moon nights. Even though he would never admit it, he came close to considering her as his older sister.

Clenching and releasing his fists multiple times, he thought about tonight; which was a full moon, the Harvest Moon.

Walking down the hall, leaving the man behind them, some weird tension grew between the two women.

“You know, I don’t really care why you’re here. But, if you ever do anything to Sasuke, I won’t go easy on you.” Anko smiled as she pulled away her arm from Hinata.

Noting a dangerous glimpse in the eyes of the woman, Hinata preferred keeping herself in a safe zone, “Now that I am here, I have no further business with him. So you don’t need to worry at all.” Confirmed the princess.

“Good”.

But, little did they know…

Continuing their walk in silence Anko stopped at a room and slid open the doors, indicating for Hinata to enter. “Wait here, Nura-sama will soon join you.” Closing the doors behind her she left, making her way to Sasuke _‘he is_ so _gonna explain this shit!”_

Not so far away, Sasuke felt shivers.

Analyzing the beautiful blue tatami room, the young girl took a seat on the zabuton in front of the tokonoma, the words _Family, Duty, Honor_ were written on its hanging scroll, and its vase was full of beautiful pink _nadeshiko_ flowers. The ceiling was coffered and decorated, which meant it was the grand reception hall of Nurarihyon.

On the low table was arranged a tea service. She heard the door sliding open then closed; she kept her eyes on the tea service. She couldn’t look at her _enemy. S_ he wasn’t scared, nor she was intimidated, she simply couldn’t raise her head.

“Ah! I’m really sorry for being late! Kore!”

What she heard was a tiny voice, which caused her to look up hastily, her eyes widened when they met with her interlocutor’s.

What she saw wasn’t exactly what she had imagined; sitting in front of her was a young boy with short spiky brown hair, his black eyes were shining; he wore a midnight blue kimono with a blue scarf.

The Nurarihyon she knew didn’t look like that.

It could be a transformation, but thinking about it deeply, he wasn’t one for those lame jokes.

“U-um… who… are you?” She questioned sounding lost.

Scratching the back of his head, the young boy smiled “Oh yeah! I didn’t introduce myself!” He locked his gaze with hers and declared, “my name is Sarutobi Konohamaru; Nurarihyon the second! Kore!” 

* * *

 

Omake:

_A few years ago._

“Anko!” an old man called.

Said Anko looked down from where she was nestled in a tree. Noticing that her lord was the one who was calling her, she jumped down. “Yes, Nura-sama?” When raising her head to look at her master she saw a little figure standing next to him.

“This is Uchiha Sasuke, a young Inugami,” he introduced the young boy as he put a hand on the latter’s head; “from today onwards he is part of our family.”

“Yes…” she didn’t quite understand why her lord had come personally to introduce a newbie to her. Well, she had a _history_ with people who were new; she still recalled that time when she found herself alone with a purple head woman in the kitchen.

_“Who are you?” she narrowed her eyes._

_“Um… I’m Yûgao Uzuki… I enrolled in your Night Watch Squad a few years ago…?”_

It was awkward… not only she was one of her squad members, but she had joined it _a few years ago_. Well, it’s been many years since that incident happened, Yûgao didn’t hold a grudge against her anymore, right?

_Right?_

She sighed, ‘ _what in the world is Nura-sama plotting?’_

“He doesn’t know much about our world, and he can’t control his transformations on full moon night.” the next sentence he pronounced almost blew her mind,

“So from today onwards, he is under your care.”

_Under your care._

_Under your care…_

_Your care…_

_Care…_

When you get older and wiser, life doesn’t necessarily get easier.

Mitarashi Anko was doomed.

Or so she thought.

* * *

**A/N:**

***Edo: name of Tokyo during the Edo period of the Tokugawa dynasty.**

***Harvest Moon is the full moon of the 27th of September.**

***Game of Thrones reference: Family, duty, honor, the motto of House Tully.**

***Nadeshiko flowers are the Dianthus Superbus.**

**Thank you for reading!**


	6. Two Fools

**Disclamer: Naruto and Shippuden belong to Masashi Kishimoto. This is a work of fanfiction, not for profit.**

**Theme Song: Rammstein - Rosenrot.**

**Edited by: Lady Veilchanblau, my beta reader on fanfiction.net**

* * *

 

**Chapter 5: Two Fools**

 

“The... second, you said?”

Hinata couldn’t believe it. She didn’t realize how much life had changed, until now. That old man had become old enough to step down and leave his empire in a child’s hands?

“Yes. The first is my grandfather, so…”

Things were now much more complicated for the young woman.

Grandfather. Which meant that Nurarihyon was married; and had both children and grandchildren.

She clenched her fists, how did he dare kill _her_ then get married like nothing happened. Her stomach tightened and her lungs tight, as if the air was becoming unbearable.

Feeling his guest’s sudden soreness, he poured her a cup of tea,

“Drink, it’s jasmine tea; very helpful for nerves, Miss Hyuga. I ordered it because I know our discussion may turn out very… irritating. Kore!”

Hinata looked pensively at her cup; she somehow knew that this little meeting would cause havoc.

“Don’t worry- it’s not poisoned.” He added, laughing.

A heavy silence followed; then the young boy decided to get to the point of the matter.

“So, what good wind brings you here?”

She reached into her bag and put on the table the a bottle of Sake.

“This is our clan’s famous Sake. My elders sent me to bring it to you, as _a gift_.” She emphasized the last word, which made her host chuckle.

Opening the bottle and smelling it, he smiled. “So this is the famous Hyakume’s Sake, huh? It smells good. Unfortunately, I’m not a drinker, unlike my grandfather. But since you went to all of this trouble to give it to me, I’ll gladly drink some of it!”

She watched him as he carefully poured himself a cup and sipped.

For all they knew, that Sake could be poisoned. Chiyo was the one who had personally made it; and the granny was known to be a professional poison maker. Yet he drank it without hesitation. Did he trust her that easily?

Was he a kid of great caliber, or just an utter fool?

“That was tasty; it does deserve its reputation, Kore!” He resumed by putting down his cup, “but, do your elders just send random people, or…”

_‘So he knew…’_ she thought. “I’ve not had the opportunity to introduce myself properly to you.” If he was going to play dirty, so was she. “My name is Hyuga Hinata, sixteenth head of the Hykume clan; it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine.” He smirked back.

-:-:-:-:-

“I missed you _Sa-su-ke-sama_.” moaned a pale brunette in the Inugami’s ear.

“Matsuri!” Growled a woman as she entered the room, “Seriously! How could you? Today is my turn, remember!”

Looking up at the bother that had interrupted her moment with Sasuke, Matsuri responded nonchalantly, “Yukata, as far as I remember today is my turn.”

The black-haired woman was getting more irritated by the minute. “What? We made a deal! The night before Sasuke-sama left was yours and when he returns he’d be mine!”

“I don’t recall such a thing.”

Pulling the man from the brunette’s hold Yukata gave her a stern look. “Leave, or you’ll regret it, you damned _Kijo_.”

Getting up, the other resorted, “you’re a damned _Kijo_ too, remember?”

As the atmosphere was getting even more tense, the Inugami freed himself from the woman’s hold and threw himself on the zabuton behind him and growled. “Stop being noisy, I have a headache. I’m here to drink and nothing else, so start pouring me some Sake, for fuck’s sake!”

-:-:-:-:-

Walking through the corridors, Anko was becoming tense, _‘where the fuck is that kid!’_

“What are you looking for, Anko?”

Turning her head, light brown eyes met black ones, “Ah, Shikaku-san. I’m looking for Sasuke, have you seen him anywhere?”

“Oh,” he expected that question, “I believe he went to Yoshiwara.”

“What? How dare he go there before having a discussion with me!” She started tapping her foot on the wooden floor as a vein popped on her forehead. “I'll teach him a lesson when he’s back.”

Shikaku prayed inwardly for the poor boy that would die later that evening from Anko's rage.

-:-:-:-:-

“Can I ask you a question?”

“As much as I know, that is a question in itself.” Responded the young boy.

“What happened to your Hyakki Yako?”

“You’re straight forward,” Konohamaru smirked, “I like it.”

Serving a cup of tea to himself, he started narrating. “When my grandfather named me his successor, many clans within the Hyakki Yako refused to be under my command. After many internal fights that turned out very bloody, they decided to disband. Only a few stayed, so I guess this wouldn’t be called a Hyakki Yako, right?”

“Oh.” Was all she muttered.

“What happened to your clan?” He asked, earning a glare from her.

“Oh my, hasn’t your grandfather told you our tale?” His sudden audacity angered her.

“Tale? So it’s a long story. Unfortunately, he only talked about your clan’s _betrayal.”_

“Well your grandfather must’ve skipped some important details. Mind you, he was the one who betrayed us.”

“As much as I know, he isn’t a liar.”

“As much as I know, you weren’t there.”

The atmosphere was getting heavier as the seconds passed by, until he broke the ice.

“Then would you like to tell me this _tale_?”

“Well,” she sipped some tea to calm her nerves, and be rational. “I can _show_ it to you, if you want.”

“I’ll pass. Plus, we’ll get nothing from arguing about the past, right?” He smiled apologetically. “In addition, you’re here to threaten me, right? Kore!”

She was dumbfounded; he was speaking as if he was talking about the weather, “And… that makes two of us, don’t you think?” Hinata replied and Konohamaru laughed.

“Is that what you think?”

“Who knows?” She commented.

“You see, I have a very interesting proposal for you.” He spoke up, scratching the back of his head, “it would sound very odd; but believe me, I have no bad intentions.”

Raising her brow she made her perplexity evident and her host smirked.

“Well…”

-:-:-:-:-

Walking through the corridors of a certain brothel of the red-light district, Anko was wondering what kind of torture she should put him through this time.

She perfectly knew his exact location, since he visited specific women only.

“What the fuck are you doing?” She yelled as she opened the door.

The two maidens, knowing who she was, left the room without commenting, closing the door behind them.

“Nothing special.” He poured another glass of sake, looking lazily at his ex-mentor as she sat next to him.

“Seriously, what do you find attractive in such women?”

“Don’t come storming into places like this. If it was any other day, you could’ve witnessed another scene.”

“Stop acting all high and mighty!” She stole the bottle from his hands.

“Why are you here anyway?” He sighed, he didn’t like being questioned and lectured.

“Why did you help her?” She couldn’t restrain herself from asking the question that had been eating her up till now.

“I believe Genma already told you, so why ask?” He wanted to avoid having that conversation with her; because she knew him best, and would feel that something was off.

Annoyingly she must’ve shared those afterthoughts with that Konohamaru kid.

Pouring herself a drink, she clarified. “You’re not the kind of person who’d help someone out of plain kindness.”

“That’s harsh; just what kind of image do you have of me?” He smirked.

“Just saying.”

He watched her pour herself another glass, and another, and another; if she kept it up she'd be out cold in minutes.

“What did she offer you in return~”

He face palmed, she was already drunk; smiling idiotically and cheeks already red.

“Nothing.” He denied.

“Don’t lie to me! You never do a favor for free, I know you very well!”

“Maybe I've changed.” He muttered feigning innocence.

“You took that bad habit from me, so I don’t think so, little boy. You’re one hundred years too early to trick me!”

“Tch, I told you to stop calling me that.” He commented as he took the bottle of sake from her, “and stop drinking, you’re dangerously drunk.”

Standing up he fixed her clothes and lifted her on his back.

“What are you doing?”

“If I leave you here, you might kill someone.” He sighed, “I’m taking you home.”

“I hate the fact that you never get drunk, bastard.” She yawned, “and don’t think you will get away with your lies you little…”

Looking up, he found her already asleep, he smiled at her serene expression.

He was glad she was part of his life –not that he would ever admit it out loud. If it wasn’t for her, he would’ve still been a _monster_.

Maybe one day he would be able to pay his debt to her.

Arriving at his destination, he entered the house, ignoring its owner’s comment,

“Since when did my house become a home for refugees?”

Genma looked at Sasuke walking past him, without answering.

“Why didn’t you just take her to the mansion, or better, to her own house?” He watched Sasuke laid the sleeping Anko on a futon and carefully cover her with a blanket. He would never understand the bond of those two; though the one he would never quite understand was clearly the raven-haired young man.

Starting as a _lonely_ kid who always followed her around –order of the first, growing as an annoying brat just like her –omitting the noisy part of her personality; outgrowing a very dark persona wanting nothing but revenge; disappearing for a while, then coming back out of the blue; and right now... he doesn’t really know how to describe him.

All he could say, that his dark thoughts of revenge hadn’t ceased yet.

Yet, when it came to this woman, he became a whole different person; going as far as being willing to take a deadly blow for her.

He was hated and envied by many in their clan, but Genma could never hate him, to say the truth he respected him.

“It contains too many annoying females,” he sighed, “not in the mood to deal with their crap.”

He never understood how he could say such things in a cool way, and still be worshiped by females.

Maybe they were masochists; who knew?

“Well, you didn’t mind dealing with the other lady.” The older man pointed out.

“You’re all the same; stop being so skeptical.” He growled, scratching the back of his head.

“I don’t know what she told you but, don’t let your guard down around her-”

“I’m off.”

Before Genma could formulate his next question, he saw the youngster being engulfed in darkness.

_‘What an arduous child.’_ He mused, _‘I just hope he won’t get himself into trouble, or else Anko will kill me.’_

Walking through the filthy small alleys of the capital, scaring away stray cats, the Inugami watched the starry sky, waiting for the full moon to appear.

Clenching his fists, he was sure he would make it tonight; like any other full moon.

A few more hours, and he would go to the Hyakume to fulfill their deal, _finding the Kyubi_.

_Upon the corpse of his beloved brother, stood the man whom he once called his ‘best friend’._

_The sky was crying and the thunder was howling; the ground was dirtied by a red liquid that mixed disgustingly with the raindrops that fell and crushed when meeting the ground._

_He stood lifeless watching the dead body of his brother; his ‘best friend’ was covered in blood._

_He understood the circumstances but his heart and mind were in conflict. He couldn’t help but ask nervously,_

_“W-what happened here… Naruto?”_

_His heart clenched when the latter’s murderous eyes fell on him._

-:-:-:-:-

Laying on a futon and looking at the ceiling, Hinata felt suddenly nauseous.

What in the world had she agreed to?

She came with one purpose, and was now leaving with another.

What would Chiyo-baa-sama say about it?

What would the clan say about it?

What would Shion have said about it?

_‘As the head of the clan, sometimes you will have to take difficult decisions that the elders and the clansmen will object.” Shion patted a young Hinata’s head._

_‘But remember, you are the leader. No one can go against your will, Hinata.”_

It had been one of the few times she had ever called her by her real name.

_‘I like to call you Amaya, you remind me of night rain!’_

She never understood that woman, she loved and respected her; but never was she able to understand her thinking or actions; even Chiyo-baa-sama argued daily with her. Then it hit her.

_Difficult decisions_ , pressing her palms on her eyes, she cursed; everything she had ever done was for their own benefit. Yet no one could understand that, not even her.

Yes, she was the leader, the one who makes decisions; no one would go against her will. No one.

That Konohamaru kid was a fool.

_“I want to make an alliance with you.”_

And she wasn’t less than a fool.

_“I accept.”_

They were two fools making the same mistake their predecessors made: trusting each other.

She was still shocked at how easily she accepted his proposal; he made it clear that he would give her some time to think about it.

She got up and sat down facing the glass; looking pensively at her reflection she massaged her head as it started to ache, _‘I should stop thinking about unnecessary thoughts for now.’_

Undoing her braid, she reached for the hairbrush and started brushing it; things were getting out of her hand, _rapidly;_ she still had time to fix things and fill some gaps.

_“We will talk about this.”_

He must’ve made that proposal without consulting his counselor, too.

Was it wise to leave everything in their hands? They were still young, after all. True, they were both chosen by their predecessors; still, she felt as if everything was rushed. It all came at once: love, hate, death, succession, war and now an inevitable alliance.

The full moon began a few hours ago, her powers must’ve returned by now.

But she felt nothing odd.

She sighed and wished she could just find sleep amongst this complicated situation.

“You’re still up?”

Upon seeing the familiar face of her companion when she turned her head, her flustered expression was replaced by a smiling one.

What was she smiling about anyway?

“Well, you didn’t expect me to sleep that easily, right?” Finishing brushing her hair, she put down the hairbrush and looked at him in the eyes.

His black orbs were captivating, her heart skipped a beat.

After a moment of silence, he spoke, “Won’t you invite me in?”

“Why did you bother coming from the window? Doors exist, you know.” Her sarcastic tone, for some reason, made him smile.

“Well, going to a damsel’s room in the middle of the night would be suspicious, right?” He was playing her game.

“And coming from the window is less suspicious?”

“Scaling buildings is fascinating under the full moon.”

“And scaling buildings to damsels’ windows is a secret hobby of yours?” Hinata chuckled.

“It could’ve been. But when visiting women for _personal needs_ I choose the door.”

Her stomach clenched at his open declaration; she didn’t know why, but she hated it.

“And what could be the reason for visiting me? Choosing _the window.”_ She asked in a dry tone.

“Personal needs.” He stated.

“I-I beg your pardon?!” she could feel her cheeks burning, holy heavens!

He smirked “Our _deal,_ remember? Or perhaps, you understood it in some other way?”

“As if!” He obviously liked to tease her –she deducted.

“No need to yell; I’m not some pervert on the run, you know.” He jumped into the room, “plus, you’re not my type, chibi.”

Her facial expressions were entertaining; her rapid changing moods were _cute_. Her pink cheeks illuminated her porcelain face.

“W-Well, shall we begin?”

“Fine by me.”

Moving her futon she sat on the tatami and asked him to join her.

As if she foresaw his upcoming question, she stated, “It is commonly known that to have better concentration one must be at the center of the room; which is here.”

He silently nodded as he sat in front of her. She stretched her arms in his direction as he eyed her, not understanding her doing.

“Hold my hands; it's part of the ritual.” She sighed.

 He did so, staring at her as her eyes slowly tuned lavender; for some reason that pale color fit her more. He could feel the atmosphere becoming heavy; she seemed calm and he was getting nervous.

Strangely, her hair started floating as she declared, “This is a very delicate procedure; instead of wasting my energy in finding the Kyubi in your past memories, I will start searching for him directly in your future ones; so answer my questions quickly, please.”

He just nodded.

“What is his name? His physical appearance? His age?”

“Uzumaki Naruto,” he muttered, “he has blond hair and blue eyes, he’s almost one hundred and fifty years old, but seems to be a teenager.”

Was it all it took so that she would find him?

Was she even able to find him? Such methods were bizarre to him; he was used to more direct ones –information gathering and so on.

It was the only reason he had rejoined Nurarihyon’s clan; because he couldn’t do much without them.

Clearing his mind, he focused on the maiden in front of him. In the end, helping her wasn’t such a bad idea.

“I found him.”  She smiled.

At that moment he released a breath he didn’t notice he was holding.

The time had finally come. 

* * *

 

Entering a small bar, a dark hooded figure was welcomed by a cheerful man, “Welcome to Ichiraku Ramen, what can I get you?”

“Tonkotsu ramen, please.”

“Right away! Ayame, give the customer something to drink!” Voiced out the owner as he proceeded in making the ramen.

“It is very cold tonight, perhaps you’d like some sake?” the brunette smiled.

“Thank you, but a cup of water will do.” Upon seeing the man’s smile, the young woman blushed.

“Are you new here, dear customer? I’ve never seen you around!”

“I am a merchant, so I travel quite a lot. It is my first time here and I heard from a certain Naruto that this restaurant serves the best ramen.”

“Oh, you talked to the right person! Our ramen is definitely the best! Are you a friend of his?”

“Not really, just an acquaintance; do you perhaps know where he might be?”

“That kid travels a lot these days, I don’t know where he is, but pass by tomorrow at the same time, you will find him here.” He confirmed.

“I see, thank you very much.” Smirked the dark hooded man.

“Here is your order, enjoy!”

He was definitely going to enjoy it.

 

* * *

 

Omake:

Shiranui Genma was sitting on a chair outside his drugstore drinking sake, thinking about Hinata.

Sure, he only knew the girl a night ago; but he easily got to like her. He still had doubts about her, but she had something special.

Maybe it was her graceful and shy nature.

Maybe it was her beauty.

Maybe it was the way she acted around Sasuke, or the way she looked at him.

Maybe it was the way Sasuke acted around her, or the way he looked at her.

But maybe, just maybe it was because she reminded him of a certain person.

She resembled her in no aspect, neither physical nor moral.

Maybe it was her smile? They did share the same smiling expressions.

_“Farewell, old chap.” She said with a wry smile, her short hair danced in the mid-summer night’s breeze._

_“I’m not that old.” He chuckled, avoiding her gaze, he wanted her to stay._

_She wanted to stay; he knew that if he asked her to, she would._

_But he loved her way too much to deprive her of her dreams._

And maybe, the day will come when he would see _her_ again.

* * *

**A/N:**

***Kijos are female yokai known for their intense jealousy, wicked crimes and for being masters of black magic and powerful illusions.**

***Yoshiwara was Edo's famous red-light district.**

**Thank you for reading.**

 


	7. His Smile

**Disclamer: Naruto and Shippuden belong to Masashi Kishimoto.**

**Theme Song: 3 Doors Down - Kryptonite.**

**Edited by: Lady Veilchanblau, my beta reader on fanfiction.net**

* * *

 

**Chapter 6: His smile**

The young head was sitting in his room with a cup of sake in his hand.

"It is not in your habits to drink sake and wonder."

The beautiful silver moon was splendid that night. Silver rays illuminated the gloomy room the young man was sitting in.

"My conversation with the princess earlier made me wonder about a lot of things, Shikaku-san." Konohamaru muttered, closing his eyes and inhaling the cold autumn air.

Never minding to question, Shikaku waited until his master was ready to talk.

"I think I did something that would engender an uncertain future."

At that point, Shikaku could no longer hold back his curiosity and approached his master.

"What happened, Konohamaru-sama?"

Smiling tiredly he responded, "I don't know why I asked her that; maybe I wanted to know how far she was willing to go, or how far I could. But... I gave her my word; I can't go back on that."

"Konohamaru-sama...?" He was no idiot, he clearly understood it.

"We made an alliance." It was razor sharp.

Shikakau was silent; his master's silence didn't bother him either. His mind was in havoc, he wasn't sure what shocked him the most, the fact that Konohamaru might have made the worst decision ever, or the fact that the maiden had accepted.

Why would she have accepted anyway?

He had to make a reunion tomorrow in the early morning to the captains of all the squads. Then, they would have to speak to him.

Did Konohamaru mention _them_?

"Konohamaru-sama, did you tell the princess about _them_?" It wasn't time to play around, if she allied herself to them, then she had to know.

"No, I didn't have the occasion to. I will tell her about everything tomorrow." Gulping from his cup, he got up and made his way to his desk and took a pen and a paper. Shikaku's eyes followed every step.

Writing something quickly, he rolled the paper into a scroll and handed it to the older man,

"Hand this letter to Genma-san and ask him to deliver it to that _man_ , as soon as possible."

He nodded, accepting his mission.

Walking to the door, the older man advised one last time "Please don't drink too much, and go to sleep, it's late. Tomorrow will be a busy day."

"Good night Shikaku-san." Konohamaru smiled.

Shikaku closed the door behind him with small smile on the corner of his lips.

As Konohamaru's counselor he was responsible for everything and had to supervise every step he made- since he was still young and inexperienced. He trusted people easily, something he inherited from his grandfather.

Somehow he reminded him of his own son.

That thought made him smile bitterly. How much he missed him, not a minute passed without thinking about him and wanting to hold him in his arms.

But he would wait until the time was appropriate.

-:-:-:-:-

"Sasuke is back." The brunette wasn't asking.

"How did you know that?" He asked, not minding to open his eyes or change his sleeping position.

‘ _He never changes’_ she smiled, "I heard it from Gaara."

"Since when can you have a _normal conversation_ with Gaara, Tenten?" The blond repositioned himself to face the brunette.

"I never said he said it to me _directly_."

“Is Tenten-chan eavesdropping on Gaara?” He laughed, sheepishly, “don’t tell me you're stalking him! Do you have a crush on him or something?”

He didn’t expect the upcoming fist on his head, “I would never have a crush on him, even if he was the only guy left in the world. I don’t want to hear that coming from you, Naruto.” She growled, annoyed.

After childishly crying out in pain, Naruto sighed, and questioned himself how such info always managed to get leaked.

He was cautious, right?

Of course he _wasn't_.

He has never been a tidy person; and the young brunette was one of the few that bothered enough to clean up the mess he left behind him.

He narrowed his eyes at her as she sat silently next to him; she had a special charm besides her beauty, it was her tomboyish personality.

Tenten was a Chinese immigrant; she had lived in Japan for years now, but kept her native country's customs. Proof, she proudly wore cheongsams instead of kimonos, her hair held in two buns, and looked as beautiful as Japanese women.

“We need to move, fast.”

“I know.” He muttered, scratching the back of his head. He got up and stood on the balcony, looking at the full moon. _‘I hope that things won’t get too complicated.’_

“Things will definitely get complicated,” sighed Tenten, she was the sole person who could read him like an open book, “With Sasuke back, the Bakufu’s suspicious behavior and the unsolved assassinations of Yokais nothing will be simple!”

“Who knows what would happen next time! Are we gonna hear that Izanagi’s Three Precious Children are coming?”

“Chill out, Tenten. No need to be agitated.” The blonde responded.

“There’s no way I can _chill out_ , Naruto.” She sighed, walking to the door.

“Tenten,” he called, “go to sleep, please.”

Not minding to turn around, she muttered before closing the door behind her, “I’ll try… can’t promise though.”

His blue eyes wandered once again to the full moon, and his whisper was left unheard in the night,

“I hope you’re okay… _Sasuke_.”

-:-:-:-:-

He was sweating.

He was burning.

When she pronounced that single sentence, he felt that time finally started moving again. Her lavender eyes made his reality look like a midsummer night’s dream.

Under his intense gaze, a faint blush colored her porcelain; he had an impassive expression; but his hands betrayed him, they were slightly shaking, and cold unlike last time.

Feeling uneasy by the silence, she started blabbering, “A-after finding him in your future, I tried reading his future in the same time which is very difficult to do; it is my first time trying such a technique,” _‘and I succeeded, father…’_ she smiled, “a-anyway, tomorrow after dusk he would be at a certain Ichiraku Ramen bar, and soon after that he will leave Edo.”

“T-tomorrow is p-probably your best chance to catch him.” She profoundly cursed at her stuttering, she thought she had gotten over it.

She was brought out of her reverie when she felt Sasuke’s hands leaving hers, and suddenly felt even colder; she watched him walking silently to the window and blushed fifty shades of red when he smiled at her before disappearing, “Thanks, chibi.”

It was neither a sneer nor a smirk, it was a genuine smile.

Uchiha Sasuke’s real smile.

She wished profoundly to see his smile again. 

* * *

 

Omake:

Tenten walked the silent empty roads of Edo under the full moon, thinking about all the unplanned crap that was to happen.

She cursed their luck and foolhardiness.

Feeling some weird power flowing in the air, she was alarmed by a shriek, running in its direction she hoped it wasn’t what she was imagining.

Unfortunately, her fears matched reality.

In a little dark dead-end lied a lifeless corpse of a woman she knew.

Clenching her fists, she stood unsecure at their uncertain future. 

* * *

 

**A/N:**

***The Bakufu is a term that came to be used for the system of government of a feudal military dictatorship, exercised in the name of the Shogun.**

***Izanagi is a deity born of the seven divine generations in Japanese mythology and Shinto , and his Three Precious Children are Amaterasu, Susanoo and Tsukuyomi, I think everyone knows this, right?**

**Thank you for reading!**

 


	8. Friend or Foe?

**Disclamer: I don't own Naruto.**

**Theme Song: Apocalyptica - Peace.**

**Edited by: Lady Veilchanblau, my beta reader on fanfiction.net**

* * *

 

**Chapter 7: Friend or Foe?**

On that morning, the mansion was strangely lively; yokai were running here and there; on few occasions, little Tsukumogami wandered between the walls of Hinata’s room, making her uncomfortable.

It was late in the morning and no one came to accompany her outside –she didn’t like to wander in the mansion alone – she considered herself lucky that the washroom was next to her own room. Her average sized room was poorly illuminated because of the cloudy sky. Looking through the window, she couldn’t stop wondering what the reason was for the commotion. Maybe something had happened? She rapidly let go of the subject, not wanting to meddle in something that had nothing to do with her.

To kill time, she started walking around the room thinking about Shion, who hadn’t appeared lately in her dreams. She stopped in her tracks when she sensed a weird aura behind her, turning slowly her eyes fell on a man, an _odd man_ in her opinion.

The man was wearing a formal black kimono with a grey haori; he was tall and muscled, his long ash blond hair was held in a ponytail and his eyes were closed, as if he was meditating.

They both stood there, silent; she didn’t know what to say in such a situation.

What was he doing there? Or more importantly, who was he?

“You are having nightmares,” he spoke, “bloody nightmares.”

She flinched at his sudden statement, _‘how did he know?’_

“Blood, there is blood everywhere; they all died, didn't they?” He continued, “You could do nothing; you saw them die, your own father died _in your arms_.”

At that point she started trembling; her father, yes, her father; those bloody visions were the last thing she wanted to remember, or see! Her eyes watered and her trembling hand covered her mouth; as the man approached her she stood still, she couldn’t move, as if he was controlling her.

Standing in front of her, he finally opened his eyes revealing beautiful blue-green pupils; in a low husky tone, he asked,

“Do you want me _to eat your nightmares?_ ”

“Inoichi-san, please stop scaring our guest.” Spoke up a feminine voice.

Turning his head, said Inoichi sighed and drew back from the princess, giving her space to breathe and to regain her composure.

 Wiping the tears with the sleeve of her kimono, Hinata glared at the two intruders,

“Who are you?”

What Hinata hated most, was people invading her personal space, and that man dared doing the unthinkable.

“I am very sorry for our intrusion, princess,” the fair-skinned slender woman spoke, “my name is Kurenai Yûhi, Nura-sama selected me as your personal servant during your stay here.” Her red eyes shone with confidence as she talked, her long untamed hair made her look stunning while wearing a simple purple kimono.

“And this is Inoichi Yamanaka,” she continued, introducing the blond man whom hadn’t spoke, “he is part of the clan’s council.”

Eyeing both ayakashi, Hinata stated, “but why is he in my room?”

“I-I am very sorry for his –” Kurenai tried apologizing but was interrupted by the man.

“Your frequent nightmares have a sweet sent that draws Baku.”

 _‘Baku? So this man is a Dream Eater.’_ She concluded.

“But that is no valid reason to intrude a woman’s room.” She clarified.

As Inoichi didn’t respond, Kurenai resumed apologizing; tired of the little commotion –and unwanted thoughts – Hinata accepted her apologies in condition for it to never happen again.

“Would you please come with me, your breakfast is ready.”

“Of course.”

As both women walked to the door, Inoichi whispered to Hinata,

“Your nightmares will get you into trouble with enemy Baku; you should get rid of them.”

Hinata looked behind her only to find him gone.

That man was, without doubt, odd.

-:-:-:-:-

“You should stop drinking.” Genma sighed, giving Anko a cup of water.

She was suffering from a migraine, only able to grunt at him. After few minutes of massaging her head delicately she drank the water and looked impassively at the ceiling.

“Well, trying to get Sasuke drunk wasn't one of my best ideas.”

“Getting him drunk is quite impossible. You know that.” He responded automatically, “did you get anything out of him?”

“Nothing,” she said sourly, “maybe we should torture that little girl to know more.”

“And maybe we should let things be for now, and observe.”

Eyeing him, she nodded silently.

“We should get going; Nura-sama must be waiting.”

-:-:-:-:-

Hinata ate her food slowly; she wasn’t really hungry, the recent events had made her lose her appetite. Kurenai was sitting in the corner of the room.

“Did something happen?”

Her black pupils met red ones, “Nura-sama asked for a meeting with his Council.” She answered after a few moments.

“I see.” Hinata believed that it had something to do with the talk they had the day before. Looking blankly at her chopsticks, her thoughts wandered to a certain Inugami.

She wondered why he was looking for the Kyubi; when speaking about the latter she noticed anger and hatred reflected in his eyes, yet, for a few moments she believed she saw sadness and melancholy.

“Princess, are you okay?”

Hinata looked at her with a puzzled expression, not understanding why she had asked such a question.

“Your eyes… they suddenly turned lavender.” The red-eyed woman explained.

“What do you…?” Why would her eyes activate by themselves, it didn’t make any sense. Suddenly her heart throbbed violently, she could hardly breathe; looking around her she found that her surroundings changed, it was raining, she was sitting on the ground and felt an unfamiliar wetness in her stomach, looking down she found herself stained with blood, her blood.

She was bleeding; no, she was dying.

A familiar voice calling her out made her raise her head; the scene made her want to scream but her voice didn’t want to come out.

Sasuke fell on the dirty ground after being pierced with a sword by a hooded person.

“PRINCESS!” A distant voice cried, “PRINCESS!”

Hinata’s brain took time to process what was happening; her watery eyes were looking at blood red ones once again.

Before she passed out, a single silent word fell from her lips,

_‘Sasuke…’_

-:-:-:-:-

Konohamaru disliked meetings; precisely, he disliked meetings that included his council. He didn’t dislike his clansmen or elders, he simply disliked their opinions.

All they ever say would be ‘Nura-sama you are too young.’ ‘Nura-sama, that isn’t how things should be.’ ‘Nura-sama, leave that matter to us.’

Few of them believed in trust and honesty.

He wasn’t sure how he would break such news to them; but still, he was the head.

_‘Remember my child; no one can go against the head, no one.’ His grandfather patted his head, smiling._

He watched as his meeting room slowly started to get crowded, on his left sat Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, the only remaining elders of the clan. Next to them sat Nara Shikaku, Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Chõza the current heads of their respective tightly-knit clans. Their clans were one of the first sub-clans to ally themselves to the Hyakki Yako; and even after its decline, they were still loyal to it. Next to them sat Morino Ibiki, the head of the Torture and Intelligence Force.

On his right sat his former masters, Ebisu and Umino Iruka, the current overseers; next to them was Might Guy the ‘Beast’ of the clan and the Chief of the Special Unit. Next to him sat the mysterious Yamato.

As Anko and Genma arrived, Utatane Koharu spoke, “Shall we start the meeting, Nura-sama?”

The humid air of the room was unpleasant to him; different scents filled the room, but the most dominant was definitely his. He looked at his councilors and subordinates one by one, clearing his throat, he started, “My fellow allies, we are reunited here today to speak about an urgent matter,” inhaling deeply, he continued, “as some of you know, the Hyakume Clan is back within this world.”

His statement caused a slight ruckus as the yokai started murmuring.

“Silence, let Nura-sama continue.” Shikaku ordered in an imposing tone, making everyone within the room hush.

Feeling the uneasiness of his elders, he resumed speaking, “Life has been very peaceful, for many years now, but things have changed. Mostly because of the weird happenings we discussed in our last meeting.”

 “Accompanied by Uchiha Sasuke, the current head of the Hyakume clan came to meet me,” swallowing his saliva he declared, “yesterday, I, Sarutobi Konohamaru Nurarihyon the Second made an alliance with Hyuga Hinata the Sixteenth Princess of the Hyakume clan.”

The silence that succeeded his declaration was heavy, none of them could speak.

“Why did you do such a thing, Nura-sama?” Asked the two elders, looking severely at the young head.

“I did what I believed was best for all of us.” He stated.

“It is not about what you believe Nura-sama, it is about what ‘ _is_ ’ best for all of us,” Homura responded, “Don’t you remember why your grandfather declared the Hyakume clan as our enemy, and slaughtered them? It is because they–”

“Because they betrayed us.” Konohamaru cut him, “But if we work for our entwined future, the past wouldn’t have to repeat itself.”

“Nura-sama, your decision is unacceptable; how could you make such an irrational decision without counseling us?”

“I am the head of this clan, and my orders are absolute.”

“That is no valid reason; please withdraw from it.”

“I refuse.” He defiantly claimed, shocking them even more.

“Nura-sama!” Homura exclaimed, “This isn’t the time to be stubborn, this is an urgent matter!”

“Since the head and the elder aren’t able to find an agreement, the Council should vote to accept or reject the decision.” Morino interjected.

Sighing the young head accepted, “Fine, those who approve of my decision shall raise their hands.”

The first to raise his hand was Shikaku, “I, Nara Shikaku, approve.”

“I, Mitarashi Anko, approve.” The young woman smirked, earning a glare from Koharu who had never liked her.

“I, Might Guy, approve!” His voice echoed throughout the room.

“I, Akimichi Choza, approve.”

“I, Ibiki Morino, approve.”

“I, Umino Iruka, approve.” The brunette declared hesitantly.

“I, Shiranui Genma, approve.”

“I, Yamanaka Inoichi, approve.”

“I, Yamato, approve.”

“I, Ebisu, approve.”

The only people left were the elders who eyed the other council members, “under such circumstances, we give you our approval; but remember, from now on everything concerned with this matter will be your full responsibility.”

Smirking triumphantly to himself, Konohamaru proceeded in explaining the matter deeply.

When the meeting came to its end, the only remaining people in the room were Konohamaru, the elders and the three clan leaders.

“Now, shall we discuss the remaining matters?” Inoichi voiced.

“Which are?” Konohamaru asked.

“Uchiha Sasuke, and the Kyuubi no Kitsune Clan.” The blond responded, “His involvement with the princess could lead to serious problems.”

“I will take care of that myself.”

“You aren’t thinking of telling her? Am I right?” Koharu asked.

His silence answered them.

“We cannot take such a risk Nura-sama.”

“To be allies means to share all information,” Shikaku stepped in, “and in this case, if we don’t, she would without doubt, make a fatal mistake.”

“By the way,” interrupted Chõza, “has anyone seen Uchiha Sasuke?”

-:-:-:-:-

In that empty street, colored by the setting sun, the raven haired young man noticed a familiar blond head walking towards the small bar.

His blood rushed in his veins as he came out of the dark alley in which he was hiding; the face his _best friend_ made when he saw him approaching was priceless.

"It's been a while, _Naruto_." He smirked.

-:-:-:-:-

Running through the empty roads of the night, Hinata wished she would arrive before needless blood was shed.

_"There are a few things you need to know." Konohamaru muttered._

_'Sasuke, please be safe.’_

* * *

 

Omake:

_Looking at the baby in his arms, he couldn’t hold his tears any longer._

_His baby girl was sleeping serenely; he wished he could be there when she would wake up, he wished he could be there when she walks for the first time, he wished he could be there when she pronounces her first words, he wished she would one day call him ‘Papa’ and forgive them._

_He wished that the day they would officially meet would come soon._

Yamanaka Inoichi awoke with a feeling of emptiness, how many days has he been having this dream?

Why hadn’t he eaten his own dream?

He laughed ironically at his selfishness of wanting to eat that indigo haired princess’ dreams while he didn’t even have the courage to eat his own.

Yet he knew, that both of their dreams did nothing but consume them.

* * *

**A/N:**

***Tsukumogami are yokai that were originally objects; after reaching their 100th birthday, become alive and self-aware.**

***Baku is a yokai that feeds on people's dreams and nightmares.**

**Thank you for reading!**

 


	9. The Enemy Who Draws Near

**Disclamer: I don't own Naruto or Shippuden, this is a work of fanfiction.**

**Theme song: Evanescence - Tourniquet.**

**Edited by: Lady Veilchanblau, my beta reader on fanfiction.net**

* * *

 

**Chapter 8: The Enemy Who Draws Near**

 

_‘You’ve grown into a fine woman…’ His coughing never ceasing, Hinata cried her eyes out, ‘I am… proud of you, my chi…ld.’_

Hinata opened her eyes and gasped in a breath as if she had beeb lifted up from water.

“Princess!!” Kurenai exclaimed, “Are you feeling better?”

As she tried to sit, she fell backwards; her head was killing her, “What happened?”

“You… suddenly fainted.”

Realization hit her, _‘Sasuke’_! Something bad was about to happen to him. She had to do something or tell someone.

 _‘Don’t you ever talk about this to anyone.’_ _He wasn’t asking, he was ordering, with a dark look._

When she tried getting up in a hurry she lost balance and Kurenai caught her, “What are you doing? Your body is still tired; you can’t move!”

“I-I need to go somewhere.”

Before the woman could answer her, a knock on the door was heard; looking at Hinata, the older woman got up and went to open the door. Hinata cursed as hindrances kept showing up, she had to leave without any fanfare as soon as possible.

“Nura-sama!”

Turning her head she saw the small figure of the young Nurarihyon standing at her door; _‘what brings him here?’_ she couldn’t help but wonder.

Entering the room, he raised a brow when he saw the princess sitting tiredly on her futon but soon turned his attention to the woman in front of him, “Can you leave us alone for a moment, Kurenai-san?” He asked in a clear tone.

After a moment of contemplation, Kurenai responded nervously to her master’s demand and left; sliding the door shut after her. The two _allies_ looked at each other, and Konohamaru asked with a concerned tone as he approached her,

“Are you alright? Did something happen to you? Kore!”

“I just fainted, because of fatigue, probably,” she lied with a smile, “thank you for your concern.”

He nodded and sat on the futon Kurenai had left empty, his face plastered a stern expression; Hinata moved to sit in a formal way but was stopped by him, “You must be tired, stay till, you don’t need to be so formal.”

After a moment of silence, Konohamaru took a deep breath and started,

“There are a few things you need to know.”

It was something she had expected him to say, but she didn’t think he would start making confessions this soon. Not minding to question him she let him continue; but the she didn’t expect that the truth she was about to hear would be her _downfall_.

“It’s about Sasuke.”

“Sasuke…?”

Locking his gaze with hers he continued, “Uchiha Sasuke is the son of Uchiha Fugaku, a human, and Uchiha Mikoto, an Inugami, and the younger brother of Uchiha Itachi.”

 _‘This is why his transformation wasn’t complete… he is part human.’_ She thought, reminiscing the battle they had at the village down Mt. Hakusan.

“Because of some regretful events that led to their parents’ death, the siblings got separated. A few years after that, Sasuke was welcomed into the Nurarihyon clan by my grandfather; while being supervised by Anko, he befriended a certain yokai in the forest of Edo.”

The pieces of the puzzle were starting to fall into their rightful place; somehow she knew what this was all about.

“A Kitsune.” He confirmed her suspicions; “the children grew fond of each other and ended up considering each other brothers. But then, a terrible happening occurred; one night Sasuke found his long lost brother, whom he had been searching for, dead.”

She understood now.

“He was killed by none other than his _best friend_. And now, Sasuke want to avenge his brother.” He paused.

“Why are you telling me this?”

“After finishing your business here, you not returning home, are you? You will start searching for the head of the Kyubi no Kitsune clan.” He wasn’t asking, rather stating a fact.

“The Kyubi no Kitsune clan was never my clan’s enemy; plus, what I will be doing after this is none of your business.” She groaned, _‘How did he know?’_

“It is my business,” he corrected, “since we are allies now.”

“But what does it have to do with anything?” She asked, furrowing her brows.

“Everything is related,” he said in a clear voice, “because, unknown to Sasuke, the Kitsune whom he wants to kill is the head of the Kyubi no Kitsune clan.”

-:-:-:-:-

“What’s wrong?” He smirked, “cat got your tongue?”

"Sa...suke...?" He gasped, in a moment that seemed like an eternity, the raven haired man was nowhere, and suddenly he was in front of him.

"I've been waiting for this moment." His eyes shone golden when throwing a blow at the blond man whom was thrown back violently; his back meeting, _destroying_ , the house on which he landed.

Before being able to get up, his opponent was already on top of him, preparing to land a blow. He dodged it the last second; jumping, he created a distance between them; but was soon distracted by an acute shriek coming from the rubble. Searching with his eyes for the source of the voice, he found a little girl trapped in the rubble.

He immediately decided that saving the girl was him prime concern, but his opponent took it as an opportunity to attack.

"Fuck, wait a second!" He cursed blocking the upcoming fist of the Inugami; giving his opponent a violent head butt. Naruto took advantage of Sasuke's imbalance threw him aside roughly. He jumped above the rubble and saved the little girl; he patted her head gently and sighed in relief when he saw she was unharmed.

“T-thank you…” she blushed under the man’s intense gaze.

Smiling back, the blond noticed the humans gathering around the place; he turned his head and shouted to the speechless Ichiraku ramen bar master,

"Please take care of this little one," he requested; looking up at Sasuke he muttered, "I have important matters to take care of."

Before Teuchi could speak, a violent wind blow went past him, and Naruto was no more. As Sasuke stood up, he was suddenly shaken; the blond held him by the collar and jumped highly into the woods before throwing him on the ground.

In an isolated place the two ayakashi stared at each other, both on their guard.

The blond wanted to move, to speak, to do something; he wanted to stop their stupid battle. He wanted to explain everything to the man whom he still considered his best friend; yet, the promise he had made to a dying man stopped him from doing so.

He gazed at the Inugami’s hateful eyes; Naruto had taken all that hate and accepted it, it was part of the deal. It was part of the _plan_ ; a dreadful plan made to protect the Uchiha.

_‘Please, take good care of him.’_

_The Kyubi watched with horror as the older Uchiha pronounced his final words before leaving that hated obscure world; he would have never thought that a day like that would come, a day when he would kill one of his_ friends _. The horrible scene worsened when the younger Uchiha appeared._

_When his eyes met Sasuke’s, he saw the pain he was going through, he saw the anger appearing, he saw the hatred that flourished in his heart that day._

_All of that was because of him and his selfishness._

"Please Sasuke,” Naruto muttered; clenching his fists, “I don't want to hurt you.”

The Inugami pierced him with his gaze, his growing sharp claws communicated his increasing anger. “You’ve already hurt me enough.”

As his fangs revealed themselves, white fur covered part of his skin; two dog ears grew tall on his head, a tail appeared on his lower back and a muzzle reshaped his face.

His animalistic eyes were full of anger; he felt his blood boiling in his veins; how much he had waited for this moment. All he wanted right now was to feel his opponent’s blood on his claws.

Taking the initiative to attack, his fist met fur before dodging a surprise attack; he smirked noticing the tails of the Kitsune floating.

Hateful yellow eyes met orange determined ones.

-:-:-:-:-

Hinata walked vigilantly between the corridors of the mansion, making sure to pass unnoticed; after asking Kurenai to get her some water, she took advantage of her absence to sneak and try to leave the mansion without getting caught.

She was now more worried than ever; after her unplanned meeting with the Nura clan head, the indigo haired princess was now certain that helping Sasuke to find the Kyubi had indeed been a bad idea.

She also made a side note to expect the unexpected whenever that kid wanted to speak to her in private.

As her wandering eyes guided her to a safe exit, her mind processed analyzing the tragic revelations she had been told.

Her eyes had never betrayed her, if the future she saw earlier was bound to happen, but she would make sure to change it. Finally stepping out of the mansion she ran through the vacant streets of Edo and vowed to not let two friends hurt each other any further.

It was a race against time.

-:-:-:-:-

The night, the only friend of the monstrous creatures that wandered under the moon to delight themselves with fresh blood. The night, a devilish evil feared more that the supernatural beings themselves; when the sun fades away to leave its place to its brother, humans _hide_ in their castles, in their houses, in their rooms; afraid of the _night_.

Don’t people usually say that _the reverse side of beauty is dyed by beloved filth?_

“If Tsukuyomi was here, there would be carnage.” A certain hooded person mused, “No wonder he hates humans.”

The man walked confidently, never letting his guard down; no one knew _what_ could attack you in the middle of the night. Catching the sight of a broken house and a small gathering of humans, the man stopped in his tracks; he perceived a rough amount of power in the humid air and smirked as he understood what it meant. Making his way towards the source of it, he felt the mild rain falling upon him and that cursed capital.

He stopped, his eyes lit up devilishly when his sight fell on the deadly fight that was happening before him.

The young Inugami attacked with ferocity the Kitsune, the latter countered the attack by breathing an enormous fireball; his nine tails seized the Inugami whom tried to dodge the fire. Naruto’s attempts to get a hold of his opponent were fruitless as Sasuke freed himself easily using a great quantity of black magic.

Both yokai were still on their feet whereas the forest was mostly destroyed and dirtied by the now heavy rain.

“I've got to admit, you're both fascinating," a voice interrupted, "no wonder master is interested in you.”

“Uzumaki Naruto, and… the little brother of Itachi.” He clapped his hands.

The young ayakashi flinched and jumped back, expecting a surprise attack. Sasuke analyzed the hooded person in front of them, brows furrowed, he outdid his desire to pierce the man’s throat with his fangs to ask,

“How do you know Itachi?”

The man smiled sheepishly at the yokai as another question was asked.

“Who are you?” The Kyubi asked suspiciously, _‘How did he find us?’_

To avoid being spotted by other yokai, the head of the Kyubi no Kitsune put a barrier around them, so that their monstrous powers wouldn’t flow with the wind. The night was the Ayakashi’s _hideout_ , after all.

“Oh right,” The hooded man exclaimed “I didn’t introduce myself properly!”

Removing his hood off his head, his ash-grey hair was illuminated by the beautiful moon, “My name is Yakushi Kabuto, it is a pleasure to finally meet you; oh, mighty Supreme Commander!” He smiled looking at the Kyubi.

Gazing into the mysterious Kabuto’s onyx eyes, Naruto gritted his teeth and clenched his fists; no one was supposed to know who he was, yet, _‘How did this man know?’_

“What do you want?” Echoed the blond up from the tree where he was.

“One small thing,” Kabuto smiled, “YOUR DEATH!” He cried, jumping at the blond and taking him by surprise.

As the sword he drew was about to hit Naruto, Kabuto was suddenly projected to the other side, hitting and making a wide hole into the moist ground. Naruto looked astonished at the raven haired man in front of him, who had saved his life.

“The person who will kill this fucker is definitely me,” voiced Sasuke, “so stop playing all high and mighty and answer my question; how do you know Itachi?” His deadly glare made Kabuto smirk even more, as he got up and wiped the dirt from his face.

“Hum… Let’s say, he was a puppet,” he shrugged, “an _unsuccessful_ puppet!”

At that exact moment, the Inugami saw red and carelessly leapt for his new opponent.

“Sasuke, don’t!!” The blond exclaimed, but too late- he wasn’t able to stop him anymore.

Kabuto picked up his katana and blocked the furious claws, hitting the Inugami hard and sending him backwards. Pushing his feet into the ground to not fall, he didn’t foresee the enemy charging.

A faint familiar sweet scent brushed his nose before his face was splashed with a red liquid.

His mind took time to register the happenings.

“HINATA!” The Inugami shouted, he caught the falling princess before her wounded body hit the ground. Holding her wound Hinata smiled at him, _‘this is the first time… he actually pronounced my name.’_

“Hang in there!” He ordered in panic; she was losing blood, a lot of blood. He was going to lose her _too_.

“Do…n’t panic, I won’t be dying anytime soon, I…I still have things to do.” she smiled weakly, coughing up blood.

“Stop talking.” He ordered, in a moment of distraction, he sensed the katana cutting the air behind him; too late, he wouldn’t be able to dodge it.

A high pitched sound of collision was heard. The sword was met with sharp claws.

“Well, you really are a hindrance, Naruto-kun.” Kabuto smiled.

“Look who’s talking.” The blond smirked as his tails took the opportunity to attack the aggressor, but he dodged it in time.

Preparing to strike again, Kabuto froze in his place. _‘Master?’ S_ ighing, the man withdrew his katana and smiled at the trio, “Well, I must take my leave; prepare yourself, Naruto-kun; next time we meet, I will definitely _kill you_.”

Soon after, he disappeared in a cloud of mist. Analyzing the area one last time, Naruto knelt beside the princess.

“Her wound is deep, we won’t make it to the mansion, follow me I know a doctor not far away.”

“Why would I believe you?”

“S-Sasuke, it’s alright… you can trust _Naruto-kun_.” She murmured calmly, surprising both young men.

“Just shut up, bothersome woman.” He groaned holding her tightly like a fragile china doll, as they ran through the cold tears of the sky.

* * *

 

Omake:

“So,” started the marshmallow, “is it good?”

After a moment of silence, her _friend_ , who was reading the Naruto vs Sasuke fight, responded to the nervous marshmallow, “It’s good.”

“Really?” the marshmallow was now seeing Unicorns and rainbows; it was happiness. She was delighted to get such a review on her first fighting scene ever.

“I was really nervous and all–”

“BUT!!” the friend added; making the marshmallow scream in horror; the cursed word had been pronounced!

Putting her hand on her chin, her friend added, “It lacks of something… something important.”

“W-what is it?”

“I cannot find the words to express myself, so I will write for you the adequate version of this fight!”

Doodling rapidly on a paper, said friend’s eyes lit up; taking a deep breath she handed it to the marshmallow,

“This is how you write a fight.” She smiled with pride.

Reading the ‘fight’ her friend wrote, the marshmallow sighed deeply; on the paper was written,

_‘The blond couldn’t hold himself from smelling his friend’s tempting scent…_

_Every contact they shared made him carve for more…_

_All in all, the rain made him look even more stunning…’_

“It was a bad idea to ask the opinion of a _fujoshi_ ” the marshmallow deadpanned, throwing the paper in the garbage.

“KYAAA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!?”

_‘I think I’ll stick with my own.'_

* * *

**A/N:**

***The Inugami is a master of black magic and the Kitsune is a fire Yokai.**

**Thank you for reading!**

 


	10. Uchiha Sasuke - Part I

**Disclamer: Naruto and Shippuden belong to Masashi Kishimoto. This is a work of fanfiction, not for profit.**

**Theme Song: Foo Fighters - The Feast and The Famine.**

**Edited by: Lady Veilchanblau, my beta reader on fanfiction.net**

* * *

  **Chapter 9: Uchiha Sasuke – Part I**

The Hōei eruption of Mount Fuji, which lasted fifteen days, was a traumatic catastrophe. Although it brought no lava flow, the eruption released volcanic ash, which spread vastly, even reaching [Edo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edo). Cinders and ash fell like rain.

Some believed that the eruption was caused by the earthquake which struck forty-nine days before, and some believed the catastrophe was brought upon them by Susanoo, the Shinto God of the sea and storms. But what was certain, was that both catastrophes caused severe destruction to Japan.

In a small village that was not reached by the eruption, life was peaceful. Snow covered the entire area; the weather was freezing; if it wasn’t necessary, a certain boy and his father wouldn’t have gone out hunting.

The youngster walked cautiously behind his father, making sure he made no sound; animals had good hearing, after all. The straight back of his father made him feel safe.

The boy halted upon seeing his father signal to him. Holding the set of arrows tightly, the youngster noticed four deer at their right, behind the bushes; he was able to hear the rest of the pack no so far from them. He watched how his father got down on his right knee and took his bow, silently and delicately poising a bamboo arrow, which the raven haired boy handed him, his eyes never leaving their prey.

The man aimed and waited for the perfect moment to shoot; time was an important detail, because the deer was a quick runner. One fatal mistake and the whole pack would run.

The older male’s muscles tightened on his weapon. It was time; in the silent late morning a loud thud was heard, deer ran and birds cried as they flew in the air; the forest was in a noisy mess. A deer had fallen dead.

“You’re awesome dad!” The boy ran from his hideout to the body of the dead animal.

No matter how many times he witnessed this scene, his father never failed to amaze him.

“It’s bigger than I thought,” he said, ruffling his son's hair, “today was a good hunt, Sasuke.”

At eleven years old Uchiha Sasuke, the youngest son of Fugaku, made it his life goal to become a professional hunter just like his father.

He was very proud of his young son, much more than he was of his older brother. On the contrary to Sasuke, Itachi was more interested in medicine and spent most of his time with the village’s doctor or in the forest searching for medicinal plants. But it didn’t mean that he did not love him; Fugaku loved his sons and wife dearly.

The onyx eyed man took a rope from his waist and trussed up the dead animal, while his son retrieved the arrow and returned it to the quiver.

“Let’s go now, Sasuke.”

The boy walked joyfully before his father, holding the set of arrows on his back; the brown haired man, on the other side, dragged the dead animal along. To not alert the animals of their arrival, they had left their cart at the perimeter of the forest.

It was only midday, and they had already finished their hunt of the day. Usually it took them longer, as animals moved from place to place quite frequently.

Today was a lucky day.

Sasuke hummed a silent song; a song which his mother had taught him. He walked and watched the nature around him, it was colorful and merry; the cold steady wind of the mountains was full with the chirping of birds which didn’t migrate, it was the only sound that could be heard, as most animals had sought warmer climates, or were hibernating.

The raven haired boy had accompanied his father on hunts since a very young age; he had always been fascinated by the techniques, the blood, and the excitement of the job. He could hear the animals breathe, he could hear their heartbeat; he sensed them, their presence and emotions, how they panicked when hearing a strange sound, how they reacted when pierced by and arrow. He felt insecure, he didn’t understand the feelings he experienced but he was sure that he _enjoyed_ them.

It was as if hunting was in his blood.

Those emotions didn’t occur once, but all the time, even when he wasn’t hunting. But the problem didn’t reside there, not at all; the problem was that he found it strange that he was the only one to feel them. He remembered being laughed at by boys his age when he spoke to them about what he felt.

After a long struggle he decided to open up to the person he trusted the most: his loving and tender mother; he explained to her his resentment, she was shocked at first, as if scared. She had murmured a few words to herself which he wasn’t able to hear, only to be told “We will talk about this when the time comes; so until then promise me that you will not speak about it to anyone, Sasuke!”

Sasuke wasn’t sure what it meant, the only thing he was sure of was that his mother was afraid. So he promised to seal his lips; and he kept his promise, he did not even tell Itachi about it.

“Hold this tightly, Sasuke and throw it when I say so!” Fugaku commanded.

After, forty-five minutes of walking, they had finally made it to their starting point: the forest’s edge, where the cart awaited them.

Sasuke held the back hooves of the deer tightly, awaiting the signal of his father to throw the animal inside the cart. The older man released the body of the rope and held the front hooves; lifting it a little he looked at his son and signaled him to throw it.

The animal was successfully thrown into the car and the two resumed their walk towards their village. As soon as they had crossed the village’s entry they boy exclaimed,

“Cool! Mom made us yakiniku today!”

His father raised a brow, “How do you know that?”

“I can smell it from here? Can’t you?”

“Are you sure? Maybe the smell is coming from somewhere else.”

“No I’m sure it’s mom who made it! I can even hear her humming a song. Hurry dad, I’m hungry!”

But the man stood still watching his son running joyfully, as his eyes dangerously darkened.

After a quick lope, Sasuke entered his family home in a hurry and threw himself in his mother’s arms.

"Oh, you're already back?" His mother asked, "You usually take longer."

"We were kind of lucky today!” He smiled, rubbing his frozen nose.

“Here, drink.” His mother handed him a cup of hot tea.

“Where’s your father?”

“He must’ve taken the deer to the butcher.” He drank his tea in one big gulp before resuming, “how about nii-san?”

“I don’t know,” she sighed, “I just hope he will make it for lunch.”

Sasuke stared at his mother as she finished preparing the table. He had wanted to talk to her about many things, the cold weather, the hunt, and himself; but he felt that he would disturb her in her deed. So he preferred to keep quiet and wait for his family to assemble around the kotatsu.

He sighed and lied down under the warm kotatsu and watched the ceiling until the sound of the door was heard and a voice asked,

“What’s with that look?”

Sitting down, the raven haired boy recognized his elder brother, “Nii-san! You’re finally back; what took you so long?”

“Sorry,” he smiled apologetically, removing his snow covered haori, “we had a patient in a very critical condition.”

“Is it snowing outside?”

“Yeah,” he sat himself under the kotatsu, in front of his brother, “Where’s mom?”

“In the kitchen.”

“And dad?”

“Probably on his way here.” He pouted.

Noticing his brother’s pout, Itachi smiled, “And how as your day?”

Sasuke merrily spoke about his forenoon, happy that his brother took interest in it.

“Say, nii-san,” the younger Uchiha suddenly asked, “how about joining me and dad tomorrow?”

Although he knew the eventual answer, Sasuke still asked that question over and over again, day after day, and the only thing Itachi would say was,

“I’ll think about it.” With a smile.

As much as he wanted to spend more time with his brother, the older Uchiha couldn’t bring himself to go hunting with them.

“Why don’t you join me after lunch? I don’t think the master would mind.”

“Your work seems boring; I don’t think I'd like it.”

Itachi chuckled, “It'd be too tiring, you mean.”

Upon entering the living room, Mikoto and Itachi exchanged greetings and chatted before she asked,

“Your father has not returned yet?”

“No, he–”

“I’m back.” Fugaku called.

Sasuke smiled; everyone was present. He exchanged a knowing look with Itachi before eating, and chuckled.

If one would ask Uchiha Sasuke what he loved most, he would without hesitation or second thought say ‘my family.’

He adored when his mother made sweets especially for him; he enjoyed his time when his father took him with him hunting; he loved when he sat with his brother talking about nothing and everything.

He simply loved it, the warmth he felt when he sat around one kotatsu with his beloved family.

But, what do people say? Happiness never lasts.

-:-:-:-:-

It was supposed to be a day like any other.

“Sasuke-kun! You should hurry back home, it’s getting dark.”

“Yeah, I’m on my way!” The boy said with a smile.

The winter’s heavy wind was steady in the air; Sasuke ran towards his home through the empty roads, he smiled and held the dango box tight in his hands; it was his favourite sweet, as well as his father and brother's.

The youngster wondered if his brother was already home; he wanted to spend the evening with him. Crossing the road, he finally arrived to his house.

As he put his hand on the door he scented a familiar smell; it was the smell his father emitted when angry or irritated, but this time, it was suffocating. His deduction was right, as he could hear his father shouting.

Slowly, he slid open the main door and entered without making a sound; he took off his sandals and wriggled into his slippers before walking toward the noise.

“I KNOW EVERYTHING!”

“Dear, please, let me explain!”

Sasuke knew that this fight was unusual, as his father never raised his voice towards mother; he watched the scene silently behind the half closed door of the kitchen.

“DON’T LIE!” Fugaku screamed.

Mikoto, who was trying to calm her husband, started trembling when her eyes fell on Sasuke.

“He's like you, right?” He snarled. “He's not human, is he?”

A gasp shook from the boy’s throat upon hearing those words, _‘What… what are you saying dad?’_

Mikoto didn’t answer her husband and tried signaling for her son to run; unfortunately for her, he was too shocked to understand her.

“Never mind.”

He stopped at the kitchen cupboards, pensively looking at the knives and sighed, choosing a simple long knife. Mikoto stood still, understanding what was to happen; she wished profoundly that her son had run away. If she was to die, she wanted her sons to survive.

“I loved you.”

Mikoto’s eyes watered upon hearing her husband’s words. She too, loved her husband dearly, so if she was to die by his hands tonight, she wouldn’t mind; when she met this man years ago, she knew he was the _one_. The female Inugami had forsaken her own nature because of love and she did not, neither in the past nor now, regret her choice.

She closed her eyes as her husband stepped forwards, prepared to pass his judgment on her.

 _‘I had a great life; I love you, dear.’_  Tears streamed down her face, waiting for the blow.

“Stop! Dad!”

Mikoto’s eyes widened, “Sasuke… Sasuke run!”

“Two birds with one stone! Aren’t I lucky?”

Then, Fugaku started walking towards Sasuke, deciding to make his wife watch the death of her own son as atonement for her sins. As he lifted his hand to stab the boy, Mikoto dashed in front of him.

Sasuke watched with horror as his mother fell to the ground and the boy screamed out his lungs. He could smell it; he could smell her death, the color and scent of the blood on the tatami was disgusting. He wanted to throw up.

His father sighed, and whispered, “and then there was one.”

There was blood, so much blood he thought he could die of shock at that moment. But instead something snapped inside of him; he jumped at his father, taking him by surprise and scratched his face. In one single hit, Fugaku threw away the youngster. Fugaku was much far stronger, even if he was a human.

He smiled, looking at his son,

“So you really are just like her: a damned Inugami.” He sighed, “Monsters should just _die_.”

His body was so tired he couldn’t move a limb, and decided to die just like he was told.

But things took an unplanned turn; gazing through the dark alley he noticed two golden eyes approaching them. Before Fugaku could touch the young boy, he felt a weird sensation and fell without understanding why.

“I’m sorry I came too late.” Itachi muttered, pulling his brother into an embrace.

The young boy could no longer hold back the tears and started sobbing loudly, never letting go of his brother.

He looked one last time at the two bodies displayed in the kitchen before everything turned blank.

* * *

 Omake:

“It must be nice to be young and naïve.”

Looking up from his cup of sake, Iruka found his friend standing next to him.

“Ebisu-san.” He acknowledged, sighing he looked at the young yokai playing in the garden of the mansion. Alongside Ebisu, Iruka had been the overseer, and the teacher of each new generation of yokai within the clan for a few centuries now.

“I hope he knows what he is doing.” The man with the trademark sunglasses muttered.

After few moments of contemplation, Iruka commented, “Konohamaru is braver and smarter than his predecessor; even if most of us are more likely doubting his decision, I believe that he made the right choice.”

“Nowadays, youngsters seem to be evolving into good persons; maybe… just maybe our future won’t have to be as disastrous as it seems.” He half whispered as the wind blew violently, shaking everything around them.

The sun was sitting, and the orange sky was slowly being covered by warning clouds.

“Seems like it’s going to rain.” Ebisu noted.

“No,” a voice interrupted, “A tempest is coming.”

* * *

 

**A/N:**

***The Hoei Eruption of Mount Fuji: is a real natural disaster, which happened in 1707.**

***Yakiniku: we all remember Choji's favorite restaurant, right?**

**Thank you for reading!**


	11. Uchiha Sasuke - Part II

**Disclamer: Naruto and Shippuden belong to Masashi Kishimoto. This is a work of fanfiction, not for profit.**

**Theme song: Steve Conte - Stray.**

**Edited by Lady Veilchanblau, my beta reader on fanfiction.net**

* * *

 

**Chapter 10: Uchiha Sasuke – Part II**

 

The young raven haired boy had always thought he was normal.

He walked down the soiled road, dragging his feet; dull eyes perceiving nothing. On few occasions, some generous souls would offer him their umbrella upon seeing his miserable state, but he would keep on walking aimlessly hearing nothing but the patter of the heavy rain.

Upon opening his eyes he noticed, for the first time since that night, the time and his surroundings. Judging by the sun's rays that warmed his fragile body, it was the early morning; he didn't know where he was, nor did he remember how he arrived here. Trying to sit up he felt an ache and weight in his bones; was he supposed to feel tired and sick? He sneered; he always thought that monsters were more powerful and resistant. It took him a moment to notice that his body had been washed and bandaged. On the small low table next to the futon were his old clothes, clean and folded.

He got up and hobbled to the low table; the yukata fell on the ground as he opened the belt, not bothering to lift it. He was out of the room as soon as he wore his own clothes, and quickly made his way out of the small house.

He wondered if he should feel wary of the bright sun. He was a creature of the night, wasn't the sun supposed to be his enemy?

"You should have stayed in your room, young boy. Your body is still tired."

Turning his head his eyes fell on a purple haired young woman holding wood in her hands. Sasuke stood there looking at her, not minding to respond; instead he asked impolitely,

"Who are you?"

The young inugami expected the woman to shout or to get angered; he didn't expect her to walk past him ignoring his question. Feeling blood rushing to his head he turned around to cry, scream, he was angry -in a situation where he wasn’t the one supposed to be.

But she cut him before he could even articulate an abrupt shout.

"Hurry and come inside, breakfast must be ready."

The raven haired boy stood speechless for a few moments, that woman was definitely nuts.

When his heart and mind were in conflict between getting inside and leaving, his stomach won; he was too hungry to leave for the unknown.

He walked silently behind the purple haired woman; somehow, the house seemed _welcoming_ ; upon entering the kitchen he noticed a small figure sitting next to the kamado, who turned around upon hearing them entering.

“Welcome home, Guren.”

“I’m back, Yukimaru.” Said Guren, as she walked to the young boy named Yukimaru to pat his head, then putting down the wood in a corner.

Sasuke’s heart clenched; it reminded him a lot of his family.

“Good morning, dear guest,” Yukimaru started, upon noticing Sasuke, “how do you feel? Have your wounds healed? Are you still tired?”

“Go easy on him, Yukimaru. I’m sure you'll give him a headache.” Guren sighed, “what’s your name?”

“Sasuke.” He answered with a prideful stand.

Understanding the young boy’s attitude, Guren simply started to arrange the low table of the kitchen for breakfast. Yukimaru smiled at his guardian and kept silent.

-:-:-:-:-

If Sasuke thought he would be leaving that house right after breakfast, he was dead wrong.

Many days had passed by since he had entered Guren and Yukimaru’s lives, and the Inugami wondered why he had not left, or why they had not kicked him out already. Their hospitality pissed him off.

He knew he should be thankful, but he could not help but be irritated.

Yukimaru was a nice and sympathetic young boy who was always concerned with Sasuke’s well-being; he discovered that he was a war orphan who was taken in by Guren a few years ago. On the other hand, Guren was a simple woman; her beautiful long purple hair was the most noticeable feature she had. Despite giving the façade of a harsh and mean person, he'd come to see her gentle inner self. She, to some extent, reminded him of his brother.

Every time he remembered his family his mood dropped drastically; not like he could ever forget what happened that night.

It was a tragic night full of shocking revelations. After the death of his parents, Itachi told him the truth about their mother and lineage; how they both were half-Inugami and their curse as Yokai. His brother disappeared a day after that, leaving Sasuke in the hands of one of their trusted neighbors, begging him to continue his life as a human and never coming in contact with the world of the night; the whole incident was classified as a work of mountain tyrants.

But Sasuke couldn’t bear with it anymore, so he left the village in search of his brother.

“Sasuke, are you here?” Yukimaru called out behind the door of the Inugami’s room.

The raven haired boy got up and walked toward the door, sliding it open. Yukimaru smiled and asked Sasuke to join him in the garden to help him cut the wood; the Inugami nodded.

As much as he hated to admit it, he had begun to get used to living with them.

-:-:-:-:-

It was late in the afternoon when Guren took out the young boys with her to the village’s festival.

Sasuke watched all the shining colors with wide eyes, the smell of different food caressing his nose; he was not accustomed to such lively festivals, as his village was a small one. Somehow, he felt _welcomed,_ and oddly relieved _._

Alongside Yukimaru, he played almost every game and ate at every food stand. He sat smiling net to his hosts near the shrine, watching with amazement the fireworks, the noise, the light and smoke were not as disturbing as he thought it would be.

For once, Sasuke finally felt happy.

Suddenly, a noisy explosion was heard.

Sasuke’s stomach clenched, he had a weird feeling about it. Something bad was happening.

While most people ran away from the disaster scene crying out incomprehensible words, Sasuke walked towards it; earning shouts from his hosts,

“Sasuke! Come back here!”

But he did not bother looking back.

What Sasuke found there was not what he exactly expected; the whole place was destroyed as if a tornado had passed by, the scent of blood mixed with different smells was intoxicating. Not so far away, a crimson colored muscled body stood amongst the carnage; the young boy took a step back upon seeing the creature’s face, two long horns ornamented its hairy forehead, its eyes shone dangerously in the dark night and its toothy mouth smiled wickedly. On one hand was a thick kanabõ, on the other the upper part of a torn human body. The scenery shocked him more than he imagined.

“H-hey!!” Sasuke cried out.

He flinched when the monster’s eyes landed on him and smirked,

“It smells so good,” he said with a cracked voice, “it smells like a fresh delicious yokai.”

Sasuke trembled; he wanted to run away, why did he come here in first place? He should have simply run away, alongside Guren and Yukimaru.

Why was it so important for him to be there?

He was too scared to understand what the monster had been speaking, too scared to notice that it was walking in his direction.

“Sasuke!” A voice called, “stay back!”

A small fragile body stood with open arms between Sasuke and the creature.

“Yukimaru… what are you doing here? Run!” Sasuke voiced, the scene was very familiar.

“What are you talking about?” The boy asked, and smiled, “how can I leave without you?”

Why was he so eager to save Sasuke? He was no one; he was not someone worth saving. The creature did not even glance at the magenta eyed boy in front of him; all he was aiming for was Sasuke.

“Yukimaru, run!” Guren cried out, from the distance.

Too late, with a single hand, the monster sent the boy flying.

When he saw Yukimaru bleeding, something snapped inside of him, he felt himself boiling from within. Something was happening to him, he was _changing_. Sasuke perceived the shocked look on Guren’s face, who was holding a wounded Yukimaru.

The raven haired boy paid no attention to the deafening cries of fear surrounding them; all he wanted to do was to protect what was precious to him.

For the first time in his life, his father’s teachings had borne fruits.

He first made sure to be the main focus of his enemy, before luring the creature away from the villagers, but the most difficult part had to be done; he needed to do something, and fast.

He knew it; he knew that he would never be able to win against such an opponent, but he wanted to try. Sasuke did not want to lose Guren and Yukimaru. He did not want to experience those feelings again, as his scars were not yet healed.

After many fruitless attempts to harm his enemy, the young half-Inugami tried to finish it off with one last attack, but in vain. The monster dodged it and hit him back.

The blow projected him far in the distance, smashing his ribs. His back met, _destroyed,_ the hard pines. Sasuke fest miserable, he wasn’t strong enough to protect neither his mother, nor Guren or Yukimaru. He was disgusted with himself.

“W-why are you doing this…?”

“There is no wrongdoing for Oni.” He smirked showing all his fangs.

There was nothing he could do; he was just a powerless half-yokai after all. Closing his eyes, Sasuke awaited the deadly blow, but it never came, only a ‘thud’ accompanied by an eerie voice was heard.

“An Oni attacking a young Yokai; you sure are a coward.” A young man said, calmly.

Opening his tightly shut eyes, Sasuke felt nauseous at the sight of a bloodied monstrous arm next to him. He fell backwards and his eyes landed on a young man wielding a katana against the Oni.

“Damn you…” the Oni cried in pain, putting his left hand on his bleeding shoulder, “Who are you, fucker?”

Instead of answering the wounded red monster, the man walked towards Sasuke and spoke,

“Are you alright, young boy?”

Sasuke was too shocked and amazed to answer, the man in blue in front of him, calmly and easily slashed the Oni’s arm. Was that man human? And if he was not, how could he be so motionless?

As his trembling lips spread open to mutter a ‘thank you’ or a simple answer, but his eyes shot open and he cried, “Behind you…!”

Too late, before his savior could move, the Oni was already behind him cutting off the man’s head with his long claws. Sasuke wasn’t sure if he was sad because an innocent man just died because of him, or if he was scared because he was going to die next, but either way he felt his stomach drop.

Sasuke expected blood, but the beheaded body didn’t fall on the ground. His head was floating in the air. Upon noticing a familiar mark on the back of the headless neck, the puzzled Oni swallowed hard and made small nervous steps backward.

“A Rokurokubi with a serpent’s tattoo… y-you’re-”

The body turned around swiftly and cut in half the Oni; black blood splashed everywhere and the head floated delicately back to its body.

That man was not human; Sasuke looked at him with amazement, forgetting all about his fear and the Oni's body which was turned to ash. The man took out a handkerchief from his sleeve and cleaned his dirtied katana before putting it back in its sheath. Once more the man walked to him and helped him getting up.

“Are you alright, young boy?” he asked again.

“Y-yes… thank you.” Without him taking notice, his small body had regained its human form.

The man looked nothing like someone powerful; his tall thin body was covered by a long blue kimono which hung loose, his narrow eyes were pale and golden, whereas his brown hair reached his shoulders and bangs hid the left side of his face.

“You should head back home; your family must be worried about you.” The man said as he started to take his leave.

“W-wait!” The young inugami called out, he ran and stood in front of his savior, preventing the latter from walking away. “I want to become strong.”

The man was impressed by the determination of the young boy, but becoming a _master_ was not something he intended to become.

“Sorry youngster, I am not the one you should be saying this to; just go home.”

“I don’t have a home, nor do I have a place I belong to.”

“But you belong to this world.” Was the man’s answer.

Orphaned yokai were not rare; in a time where the ayakashi fought for pleasure and hatred, too much blood was spilled, blood of the guilty and the innocent. As much as he felt sympathy for the boy in front of him, who reminded him too much of himself, taking the inugami with him was still out of question.

“No, I don’t.” Sasuke answered with anger, “I am a monster, and monsters do not have the right to live. That is why I need to get stronger, to crush those who want to crush me!”

“Who said that monsters do not have the right to live?”

“Humans.” He said, clenching his fists.

“Then if monsters say that humans do not have the right to live; that would be fair, right?” The man walked towards the raven haired boy and knelt to reach his size. Putting his hand on Sasuke’s head, he smiled,

“You were born in this world, so you have the right to live just like any other creature. Do not let people minimize you; as long as you breathe, you will live.”

The man got up and handed Sasuke a golden item.

“This is my pipe; take it.”

“Why?”

“To remember yourself.” He said quietly, walking past the young inugami.

The words held much meaning than he would’ve ever imagined. Turning around, a pipe in his hands and eyes pooling with tears, Sasuke shouted,

“My name is Uchiha Sasuke; what is yours?”

“Utakata.” The man answered without turning, before disappearing in the darkness of the night.

-:-:-:-:-

“Leaving without saying goodbye or thank you for your hospitality?” A voice called, “such an insolent boy.”

“I was hoping to leave without being noticed. I didn't want to disturb you.” He didn’t need to turn around and look; he would have perceived nothing in the dark, after all.

“Where is Yukimaru?”

“Sleeping. It was a long day, after all.” Guren muttered.

“I-Is he okay?”

She sighed, “A few scratches here and there; he’ll survive.”

A long silence followed the few words they exchanged; he was leaving, and there was no coming back.

“I am sorry.”

“You shouldn’t be.” She corrected, “you are a good person, Sasuke.”

The atmosphere was heavy; there were so many things he wanted to say, but they were all stuck in his throat; maybe it was better that way.

“Farwell.” He said.

“I wish you all the best.”

-:-:-:-:-

The howling of a wolf was acute in that silent night.

Was actually it a wolf?

Maybe…

Sasuke smiled at his own stupidity, wolf or not, the fact wouldn’t lessen the danger. In that gloomy wooded road, which was dimly illuminated by the moon, the young boy noticed a silhouette sitting on the floor. For a moment he stopped in his tracks, swallowing hard he decided to keep moving and to not look back.

It was supposed to be a good plan, until the person spoke,

“Travelling alone in the middle of the night is dangerous, young boy. Who knows what you could encounter?”

The voice was deep, hoarse and creaky.

“Yeah, you’re right.” He had to get out of there, that man was dangerous, “Guess I’m heading home then; good night, sir.”

He heard a faint chuckle before the man spoke again,

“My name is Sarutobi Hiruzen; the head of the Hyakky Yako, young Uchiha.”

“What do you want?”

The man never flinched, neither from the night’s creepy noises nor from the cold; he was sitting on the ground as his kiseru kept him warm.

“Join me, young Uchiha.”

“Give me one good reason.” Sasuke wanted to simply walk away, but his body refused to listen.

“You need power to survive; and in this soiled world, survival is only for the strongest.” Nurarihyon’s answer sounded as real as irrelevant; but for some reason, Sasuke didn’t doubt it.

“Why me?”

“I happen to like Inugami, you know.” Hiruzen Sarutobi answered calmly as he took a puff of his kiseru.

He had no reason to trust that old man, nor did he have a reason not to join him.

Nurarihyon uttered no more words as he started to walk away, and nor did the boy as he silently walked behind him.

* * *

Omake:

The blue haired woman looked attentively at the chained woman in front of her; her hands were tied with metal chains above her head, marks of stings were evident on her arms. Her white kimono hid her weak body; her head drooped.

If that woman wasn’t a supernatural being, she would have died a long time ago.

It was supposed to be one of those _normal_ days, when the bluenette was supposed to come to that mad scientist’s hideout to take _a few things_ ; but he wasn’t there, and she stumbled upon a chamber where _a very important_ prisoner lied; that was what she deducted since the woman was put in _his_ personal lab instead of the _oubliette_ where were kept the other subjects.

“What are doing here,” a deep voice called, “Konan?”

Turning around, the bluenette with piercings recognized the masked man in front of her.

“Nothing in particular.” she responded; after taking a last glimpse at the chained woman, she started walking towards the exit.

“Don’t tell me you feel sorry for this rat lab?” He asked sarcastically.

Konan hated that man, he had always been able to look through her like an open book, while she, on the other hand, was never able to tell what he was up to; moreover no one ever saw his face, he always wore that orange mask with a spiral pattern focused around his right eye.

“I don’t see why, it doesn’t even concern me.” She muttered before disappearing.

Her? Pity?

She smiled, ‘ _not even in a million years.’_

* * *

  **A/N:**

***Kamado: is a traditional wood or charcoal fueled cook stove.**

***Kanabo: is a spiked weapon used in feudal Japan, often used in tales by Oni as they were reputedly extremely strong.**

***Oni: are a kind of Yokai variously translated as demons, ogres, devils and trols.**

***Rokurokubi: there are two types of this Yokai, ones whose necks stretch, and ones whose heads come off and fly. Utakata is the second type.**

***"There is no wrongdoing for Oni" is a well-known quote said by the mythical Oni leader, Shuten-Doji. And, no, that Oni was not Shuten-Doji.**

***Kiseru: is a japanese pipe. The one Utakata gave to Sasuke and the one Sarutobi was smoking with are different, that is why I did not use this term for both of them.**

**Thank you for reading.**


	12. Uzumaki Naruto

**Disclamer: Naruto and Shippuden belong to Masashi Kishimoto. This is a work of fanfiction, not for profit.**

**Theme Song: Eluveiti - A Rose for Epona.**

**Edited by: Lady Veilchanblau, my beta reader on fanfiction.net**

* * *

 

**Chapter 11: Uzumaki Naruto**

****

_The sun shone dimly, hidden by the thick grey clouds which were the only things ornamenting the wide sky. A little girl was sitting on a rock, contemplating the shrine in front of her; distant voices were heard chanting._

_Time passed, but the scenery never changed. The girl looked right and left, there was no-one around; she sighed and closed her eyes; it was about time to go back to the shrine. She got up and walked slowly, listening to the rage of the waves against the hard rocky shore. Before getting through the shrine’s orange gate, she took a last glance at the sky- empty of seagulls._

_She climbed the endless stone stairs one by one, slowly and carefully. The Shinto Shrine had been her clan’s home for centuries; it was a sacred place next to the sea, hidden by the woods. It was their sacred home._

_Suddenly an odd golden butterfly flew around her. Not minding the insect, she continued her road, but the butterfly stuck to her left shoulder as if it wanted to talk to her, to warn her. Feeling uneasy she raised her hand to remove it, only to find it had disappeared._

_She hastily raised her head looking for the golden insect, but in vain. It was gone._

_Anxiety stuck her. Today, everything was eerie._

_She rapidly climbed the stone stairs and ran through the pathway decorated with lighted stone lanterns; both the Kagura-den and the administrative office were empty, there was no one._

_She passed through the lion-dog guardians of the place and entered the oratory without taking off her sandals or saying her prayers. She called and called but no response was ever spoken._

_How could an entire clan suddenly disappear? Earlier that afternoon, she heard them chanting. So how?_

_A golden light went past her, and she stopped in her tracks. It was the butterfly! The girl turned around and ran behind it; the insect flew through the many corridors before exiting the oratory, with the girl right behind it._

_It flew and flew, never stopping; and no matter how fast the little girl ran she seemed to never get close to it. Then it finally, almost miraculously, stopped and landed on the fence surrounding the main hall enshrining the God of the shrine, the Honden._

_Breathing with difficulty, the girl stopped for moment before walking to the gilded butterfly. The insect stopped moving and seemed to gaze at the Honden, as if it was telling her to get inside._

_The child looked up at the Hoden and walked towards its entrance. But, she hesitated to go inside; after all, the Honden was the most sacred place of the shrine and getting inside was prohibited; only the elders were allowed inside, and this was only to perform rituals._

_Taking a deep breath she closed her hands on the doorknobs, and with full force pulled it open._

_It took a few moments for her eyes to get used to the dark, finally noticing what was inside._

_Her legs trembled violently as she tried to walk, but she fell miserably on her knees with eyes full of tears. Her cries were trapped in her throat, and helpless sobs echoed in the Honden._

_The main hall, which she had never stepped inside, was full of lifeless bloodied bodies; on the floor, one on top of one; two, three, ten…hundreds. The entire clan was slaughtered inside the Honden._

_She found with her eyes, despite her blurry vision, the bodies of her sister, father, cousin, aunt, distant relatives... Everyone; everyone was present. Everyone was dead._

_On top of the pile of bodies shone a bright golden light._

_Lifting up her tired head, her eyes widened seeing the golden butterfly._

_“Your final judgment shall be delivered from the sea.”_

_“Hinata-sama,” a voice called, “Hinata-sama!”_

_Opening her eyes, a young Hinata hastily sat up, looking around her as if frightened._

_“Hinata-sama, are you alright?” A young boy asked as he sat beside her, “You're sweating!”_

_It took her few seconds to come back to reality, giving the boy next to her a tired smile._

_“It was just a nightmare,” she said softly, “do not worry, Neji-onii-san.”_

_The brown haired boy knew what was past her smile, but preferred to give her some space, “Shion-sama is waiting for you.” He said as he got up to leave the room._

_“Yes, I will prepare myself.”_

_The young princess watched her cousin walk towards the door and murmured before he slid it closed, “Thank you.”_

_As far as she remembered, Neji had always been by her side, he acted as her brother, mother, advisor and bodyguard all in one despite being only two years older than her. He was the only person who stood by her after she was chosen as successor of the current Hyakume princess. It was not as if she was neglected, she was in fact supported by all her clan, but Neji was the only one who provided her with emotional strength._

_For that, Hinata was very thankful._

_Upon finishing preparing herself, the indigo haired princess-to-be left of her room and started walking towards Shion’s personal office, alongside Neji. The paternal cousins walked next to each other in silence, and the boy could not help but be worried about Hinata._

_As they arrived, Neji notified the princess of Hinata’s arrival and brought her in before leaving the room. The two maidens exchanged casual talk while taking their breakfast. Everything was supposedly normal._

_But then, Shion spoke in a silvery tone, “We will be leaving for Fuji in few days. Prepare yourself.”_

_Hinata was not surprised. These past months Hinata and Shion had been going quite frequently to Nurarihyon clan’s mansion, which was situated in Fuji. Even though the princess never opened up the matter, the indigo haired girl knew about the tensions amongst Ayakashi._

_“Yes.” Hinata responded, slightly nodding her head, and without further discussion she bowed and exited the office._

_Closing the door behind her, she gazed at Neji, who had been waiting for her at the door. She did not need to say it, he understood._

_At that time, Hinata had yet to understand the dream she saw that day._

_“Your final judgment shall be delivered from the sea.”_

Painfully opening her eyes, Hinata was not able to move, as she was in pain. Remembering the latest events, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath; the princess cursed her luck, so much was going on with her life at the moment and she had no idea how to deal with it.

The whole story of Sasuke and Naruto had nothing to do with her, but she ended up caught up in it anyway.

Not to mention she still hadn’t finished what she was sent for by Chiyo-baa-sama,

And just now, the dream from which she had just woken up from was neither a vision nor an apparition; rather, it was a memory. A distant memory from her past; at that time Hinata was anxious about her future, the tensions of her clan with both the Nura clan and the Kitsune clan, and her own powers. On top of that, the frequent dreams she had had about the golden butterfly ended up happening with the Sixty Days Carnage.

Remembering those days was never easy; she was still not over the massacre of her clan. She probably never would be.

Suddenly, she realized something important and vital. She had missed an important detail in her past visions of the butterfly, and the genocide which happened in their clan’s shrine, all she could hear was: _“Your final judgment shall be delivered from the sea,”_ but the actual Sixty Days Carnage did not happen there, as when they became Nurarihyon’s allies they left that shrine under his demand so that they would be positioned closer to his mansion, and their judgment did not come from the sea.

_‘Then… why?’_

Hinata turned her head in the direction of the door as she heard it being slid open. When a blond figure appeared, she was disappointed, as if she was expecting someone else.

The Kyubi smiled when he noticed that the princess had woken up, “Good morning sleeping beauty! Or should I say, good evening!”

“How long have I been asleep?” She muttered, looking at him as he sat next to her futon.

“For an entire day!”

Sighing, Hinata looked pensively at the ceiling, not minding to ask what happened after she fainted. Naruto grinned sheepishly and broke the silence,

“I believe we haven’t had the opportunity to officially meet, my name is Uzumaki Naruto, the second head of the Kyubi no Kitsune clan.”

“Yes, that is true,” the lavender eyed woman replied, “I am Hyuga Hinata, the sixteenth Princess of the Hyakume clan, but I am sure Konohamaru already told you everything. Am I right?”

Hearing her, the Kitsune was shocked, and his face became serious- he did not expect her to know about _it_ this soon. If Konohamaru told her everything, did he mention Sasuke and…?

“I have not said anything to Sasuke about it, so be at ease.” She added, after seeing the shocked face of the blond.

 _‘So she knows about_ that _too.’_ He sighed profoundly.

"I should thank you, I guess;" the blond said, "for not telling Sasuke, and saving him."

"I did not do it for you." She cut him sharply.

Hinata sat down- with difficulty- to face Naruto, who helped her against her will and gave her a cup of hot tea. She did not like looking weak in front of people, she hated being helped.

"He needs to know.” She said, out of the blue.

"He won't understand.” Naruto responded with a sigh, “and that Konohamaru is such a blabber! I told him not to say a word!"

"Even if..." She objected, “He’s his brother, Sasuke _has_ to know!”

"The day when he finally understands my actions will never come, so he has no choice but to hate me.” He smiled bitterly.

“Stop playing the victim and start taking responsibility for your actions, rather than thinking he is too weak to handle the truth! The weak one here is you! You prefer to be hated by your dearest friend instead of making him suffer.”

Naruto looked at her with amazement, with barely any effort she was able to see through him and was actually standing up to him, something no one but Tenten has even done. Hinata was beautiful externally and internally, she believed in Sasuke whom she had only known for few weeks, more than him, who had known the Inugami for centuries. But still, what she asked for was impossible.

"It is not only because of that.” He confessed, “If he ever finds out, he will be in great danger and I promised I would protect Sasuke.”

"Is it worth it?” She breathed, defeated.

"It is."

Smiling, he understood why Sasuke liked her that much.

“Sasuke sure is lucky to have found someone like you.” He grinned as he got up, preparing himself to leave, “I'm going to tell him you woke up.”

He stopped at the door. “Oh, and one last thing, don’t take his angry words to heart. He really was worried about you –dattebayo!”

Left alone in that room, Hinata was sure she was as red as a tomato.

-:-:-:-:-

Konohamaru was anxious and worried; Sasuke and Hinata were nowhere to be found. It had been more than twenty-four hours since they were last seen.

Something had happened, he was sure of it.

As soon as the young head received a notification about Hinata, who had disappeared from her room, by Kurenai, he asked Genma to search for her, but the latter had yet to contact him.

Sighing, he pushed away work he was doing and exited his office, heading to the gardens. On his way, the last person he expected to meet in the hallways stood before him.

“Nura-sama, I have new information you need to know.” The blond man said.

Apparently, Konohamaru was not going to catch a break.

To talk freely, Konohamaru had no choice but to go back to his office, much to his annoyance. He sat in his usual spot with the blond in front of him.

“So,” the youngster started, “what is it that you have found, Inoichi-san?”

“It is about the female yokai murders.” The older Baku stated.

“Did you find the culprit?”

“Not yet, but apparently he is known as the Demon of the Hidden Mist. I do not know his aim, but…”

At that point, Inoichi kept silent, trying to find the right words. And Konohamaru feared the worst. _‘But?’_   He repeated mentally, waiting for a continuation.

“But up until now, all his victims were only young blonde women.”

-:-:-:-:-

The evening was calm, calmer than usual.

Sasuke sat in the garden listening to the endlessly repeating sound of the bamboo water fountain; he drank his tea, wondering what he should do next. In his left hand rested an old pipe; he sighed and looked at the wide sky.

The raven haired man slightly tilted his head as he heard approaching steps getting nearer and nearer; Sasuke grimaced and hastily got up to walk past the blond who stood next to him.

The raven haired man did not want to talk to Naruto, not now; not yet. Because if he did, he knew what would happen and he had promised Hinata to trust this man. So he waited for her to wake up before settling his important revenge.

Naruto sighed as he watched his former friend disappear into the house, “He must know that she's woken up.”

Climbing the stairs, Sasuke tried his best to hide his current emotions, anger and relief overwhelmed him in the same time and up until now, he still hadn’t understood himself.

The only thing he was sure of is that he was happy she had survived.

Ever since last night’s events, Sasuke had not left the princess’ side. He could feel and hear her heart beats and her breathing, he knew she was awake the exact moment she opened her eyes, but preferred waiting for her to talk to the blond before going to see her.

There were so many questions he wanted to ask, but as soon as he slid open the door and his dark eyes fell on her lavender ones he had forgotten everything he wanted to say.

Sasuke closed the door and walked towards the window, opening it. He breathed in the fresh air, as if her presence was suffocating him.

Hinata kept silent, as if prompting him to speak first. Glancing at her, he noticed that she was rather pale and tired, almost at the verge of _shattering_.

The princess looked at her entwined hands, biting her lower lip. She was ashamed, and did not exactly know why.

She half expected him to shout at her and half expected him to act like he did not care, but what she had not quite expected was for him to talk in a caring tone.

“How are you feeling?” He asked, locking his eyes with hers.

 _‘I almost died, I am scared, but I am happy that you are here…’_ there was so much she wanted to say, but none of it came out.

“Just fine.” She faked a smile, which was a mistake.

"What you did was unforgivable. Do you know the severity of your actions?! You could have died!”

“Y-you could have died too.”

“My life is not as important as yours.”

“It is!” She objected. It took her a minute to understand what had just said, “I-I mean…”

_“As long as you breathe, you will live.”_

Sasuke paused, and then smiled. "Thank you, Hinata.”

Her cheeks reddened; somehow, she felt that the Inugami was opening up to her, little by little. She stiffened as she watched him approach her. When he sat, his tender gaze fell on her wound; he stretched an arm, fingers hesitant to touch it; she encouraged him to do so, an overwhelming warmth filled him as he put his hand on her.

Closing her eyes and lowering her head, she trembled a bit when he slowly traced her hidden bandage; she wondered if he could feel how hard her heart was throbbing against her rib cage. She pondered if he felt the same.

Suddenly she felt a tender hand cupping her face, _forcing_ her to gaze at reality; her reality.

She did not hesitate, not even once; she could feels his breathe on her as he closed the distance between their faces… slowly… surely.

There were two things Hinata was sure of. First, was her growing feelings for the raven haired Inugami. Second, she was giving up herself into him, but she was not sure that embarrassment could kill.

Embarrassment did give her a little heart attack, though, when the door of her room was slid open at the exact moment when his lips were meeting hers.

At that moment she did not know what was worse; the pink haired girl who watched the scene with shock; Sasuke, who did not care about the disturbance; or simply her, who, under such circumstances, pushed him away as hastily as she could.

Sasuke growled, “What are you are doing, chibi?”

Hinata’s brain stopped functioning, her blood rushed in her veins, and her eyes were stuck on the woman at the door who openly glared at her. Sighing, Sasuke got up and looked at her.

“What brings you here, Sakura?”

With difficulty, said Sakura took her eyes off the princess to raise a brow at the Inugami, “What brings _you_ here, Sasuke-kun?”

As he did not response, Sakura took a deep breath, and turned her head- giving Hinata a stern look, “I am glad you are okay; my name is Haruno Sakura, I am the person who saved your life.”

The indigo haired princess regained her composure upon feeling the iciness of her interlocutor and _savior_.

When Hinata was chosen to be the next princess, the first lesson Shion gave her was dignity; _“Amaya dear, you first need to know your worth, and then add tax.”_ And even if Hinata was regarded as the sweet innocent child, she was, nevertheless, prideful.

“Thank you for both your concern and hard work, Sakura-san. I am Hyuga Hinata, pleased to meet you.”

Sakura faked a smile in her turn. “The pleasure is all mine.”

On the other hand, Sasuke watched the exchange with a grin. Women were sure entertaining.

Noticing his smirk, the doctor spoke, "Aren't you going to leave?”

“Why?” Sasuke asked, not quite understanding what she meant.

“Why?!” She retorted, annoyed, “I came to change her bandages.”

After a moment, his lips formed a small ‘o’ as he understood, "There’s no need, I've seen her already and there are things I need to disc-”

Hinata was not sure if what had just seen was reality, in the speed of the light, Sakura got up and punched the Inugami out of the window, making a hole in the wall. Her mouth hung open as she watched the pink-haired girl fill the hole with pillows, murmuring to herself.

Finished, Sakura walked back to Hinata and sat down next to her, asking her to open her kimono. The princess averted her eyes, red from embarrassment she stuttered, "I-It's not what you think it is!”

There she was again, stuttering.

 _“Just save her! Please save her! She cannot die!”_ The pinkette bit her lower lip remembering how Sasuke panicked last night and she glared at the princess,

“I don’t care if you are his lover or one of the courtesans he sleeps with at Yoshiwara, I'm not giving up on him.”

Taken by surprise, Sasuke was easily kicked out, “Damn that cat, her hits are harder than before.”

He got up with difficulty, rubbing his aching back; he was clearly annoyed, not only did she disturb their would-be kiss, but she also dared to hit him. His annoyance was replaced with a witty smile as he thought about how that indigo haired maiden accepted his sudden action; how she willingly accepted _him_.

Yet, that smile faltered when his eyes met sky blue ones.

“I wonder what you did to make Sakura-chan so angry!” Naruto smiled, his arms crossed behind his head.

"Do not think that I've come to like you because you saved Hinata; you should be thankful, if it wasn’t her, you would be dead.”

"I know.”

* * *

 

Omake:

It was a hot summer day; the little boy was supposed to be training… or sleeping… better! Swimming, but no, God had other plans for him; ah no, not exactly, the perverted man with him had other plans for him.

“Can’t we just leave it at this for today?” The blond boy said quietly, as if afraid to be heard.

“Stop being lazy Naruto!” the elder man responded, “A man should always grab the occasion to achieve his dreams!”

“Damn pervert.” The blond murmured.

What dreams was he talking about? All they were doing was peeping on women through the bamboo of the onsen.

“What did you say?”

“No, I said nothing, nothing!” Naruto sighed, looking tiredly at the nude women, “Oh yeah, by the way Pervy Sage, I made a new friend.”

“Really?!” The perverted sage responded, never taking his eyes off the candies, “what’s he like?”

“He’s a jerk!”

“What?” The older man raised a brow, looking at him; Naruto had never talked like that about a person, let alone a _friend._

“Yes, a jerk! And a prideful idiot; he’s shithead who thinks he’s the best. He annoys me a lot!”

“Well, that’s an interesting friend you made; what’s his name?”

“Sasuke.”

* * *

 

**A/N:**

***Even though Hinata's clan is Ayakashi, they lived in a Shinto shrine, but that does not make of them priests; furthermore, I wanted to point out that the rituals that are held in the Honden are not for worship purposes.**

***Kagura-den: is the building within a Shinto shrine where the sacred dance ( _kagura_ ) and music are offered to the God during ceremonies.**

**Thank you fro reading.**

 


	13. My Master, My Friend, My Enemy

**Disclamer: Naruto and Shippuden belong to Kishimoto.**

**Theme Song: - System of a Down - Question!**

**\- Takanashi Yasuharu - Jigoku no Kawa Nagare (Jigoku Shoujo OST)**

**Edited by: Lady Veilchanblau my beta reader on fanfiction.net**

* * *

 

**Chapter 12: My Master, My Friend, My enemy**

 

Konohamaru woke up with a headache. It had been a few days since he had gotten any decent sleep, and he had grown increasingly irritated. After washing himself properly and taking breakfast, he immediately ran back to his office to check his morning letters.

The young boy was an observer, a _bystander,_ and all these years, he felt that he had done nothing beneficial to himself, his clan, and to _Sasuke_. To him, the Inugami was a person he had grown up looking up to, and felt bad for lying to him.

He still vividly remembered their first encounter, and how the Inugami protected him from a deadly attack; at that time, Konohamaru was still oblivious to what awaited him as a future head of the clan.

_“He should know.” Hinata said, her piercing eyes boring into his._

Sighing, he threw the letters on the low table, _‘I should get this done.’_   He thought.

His attention shifted quickly, feeling a presence within his office; a small hairy spider hung in front of him, eyes shining.

“Konohamaru-sama, I’ve found them.”

“It took you longer than usual, Genma.”

“My sincere apologies,” he responded, “It appears they are with... him.”

“You mean…”

“The house of the Nekomata.”

It was now or never. Konohamaru had made his decision. “Thank you for your hard work!” He said as he hastily put on his haori.

“Konohamaru-sama, please, let me accompany you.”

“No, there are important matters that I need to deal with. On my own.” He said firmly as he reached the door, and turned, “I leave everything in your care.”

There was no time to waste; every minute, every second which was lost, brought them closer to the edge.

The sun was up high in the sky, hidden by the grey clouds; it was going to rain, again. Autumn, as far as he remembered, had always been a harsh rainy season. Walking hastily down the filthy roads of the capital, the young head thought about the outings he used to have with his grandfather on rainy days. On such days, the older Nurarihyon used to tell him tales about legendary Yokais, tales of bravery and loyalty.

Being the child he was, the spiky haired boy more often found his tales boring than inspiring, but listened to him nonetheless, never complaining. Out of his numerous tales, Konohamaru’s favorite was the tale of Tamamo-no-Mae, the infamous Kitsune, one of the Three Great Evil Yokai. A mischievous Kitsune who was able to take down an entire kingdom on its own.

Konohamaru also noted that his predecessor liked rain, as he never held an umbrella; walking bareheaded, letting the rain fall over him as if it was washing everything away.

By the end of their outings, the younger Nurarihyon always noticed a feeling of… _sadness._

Konohamaru always wondered if he was crying, but he could never bring himself to ask. Some things were better left unsaid.

Arriving to the house in question, Konohamaru knocked roughly several times on the wooden door before a feminine voice cried,

“Yes, yes, I’m coming!”

Nurarihyon stood with passive figure, as the girl’s eyes shot open after recognizing him at the door.

“Y-you’re…!”

“It’s been a while, Sakura-san.”

The girl hurriedly came out and closed the door behind her. “This is not a good time; you should leave.”

“I want to see Sasuke and Naruto.” His resolve did not falter one bit.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t let you.”

“You don't have the authority. Let me pass, Sakura.”

“I don't have any power over you. But I am a person who keeps her promises; I can’t let you in.” She glared at him.

Before she could react, the younger boy took possession of her hands, pressing them.

“Hide these claws of yours, little kitten,” Konohamaru muttered, “or I will not be able to take responsibility for your injuries…”

“Konohamaru.” A voice cut through them sharply, taking both of them by surprise.

“Naruto-nii-chan.” He acknowledged, feeling at ease to see him.

But the fellow Ayakashi did not seem that happy, “What do you think you are _doing_?” Konohamaru wondered if the blond was talking about his presence there, or the fact that his was threatening the girl he liked.

“What I deem to be necessary.” He responded, unfazed, letting go of the maiden’s hands. Sakura automatically stepped back, eyes blazing.

Naruto put a hand on Sakura’s shoulder, making her lower her guard, but his gaze never left the boy’s.

“This is not your business.” Naruto started with a calm voice.

“If it involves everyone here, then yes, it _is_ my business.”

“Back off, it’s not too late. Sasuke cannot sense you.” He said, “Hinata did not say anything; there is no need for you to be here.”

“I know she did not.” Konohamaru released a deep breath, closing his eyes. She was an angelic figure, but he knew better; no malice seemed to be behind her words, but she was, nonetheless, devilish.

_“What are you planning to do, now that you know?”_

_“Please don’t get me wrong; this story has nothing to do with me, I will be telling him nothing. I’m not the one who has to.”_

“Then, why?” The blond questioned, showing his troubled side.

“This comedy has lasted long enough, and… we don’t have time anymore; he is in danger, either by knowing _it_ or not.”

“What are you talking about?”

“ _They_ have started moving, it’s too late now.” The younger boy confessed, shocking the Kitsune, whose eyes widened. Sakura did nothing but watch the whole scene.

The blond cursed under his breath; it was too soon. No, it was impossible. He had taken every possible caution to avoid this from happening, then how? Why? And it clicked.

His blond eyebrows furrowed, _‘Who?’_

Konohamaru watched as Naruto’s face distorted; he finally understood what was happening.

“I know that you promised him…” He said, “You promised Itachi to protect Sasuke, but there are other ways to do so; don’t you think?”

The blond kept silent, but the maiden could no longer restrain herself from meddling in the matter; it was after all something that could bring misery upon all of them, and everything depended on how Sasuke would take their confession.

Sliding open the door, Sakura cleared her throat, “Please come on in, this is something that should not be discussed on the streets; _people_ have ears.”

As the two men entered, Sakura closed the door and walked behind them,

“I hope the simplicity of my house does not bother you, Konohamaru-sama.” She said.

“No, not at all, don’t worry.” He responded, a little smile on his face, but the woman was more worried about the blond who walked silently next to him.

As they passed the garden and entered the main hall, Sakura stopped in her tracks and waited for them to outpace her before stepping out in the garden; breathing a little blue flame she pressed a finger to the soil.

“Take good care of the house, my _little darlings_.” Her lips spread into a wry smile.

As she walked to catch up with the two men, atrocious bluish hands broke free from the ground.

Naruto walked and walked, not knowing where he was going, his feet led him through the house, his mind wandering somewhere else.

There was a snitch amongst them.

The single thought of it made the Kitsune feel sick; who would do such a thing? Only a few chosen people knew about Sasuke. And these people were trustworthy.

Uchiha Sasuke, younger son of the famously powerful Ayakashi Inugami-no-Mikoto, who had been one of Abe-no-Seimei’s Shikigami. After the death of her master, Mikoto’s whereabouts were unknown, but one would have never thought she would produce offspring, at least, not with a human. Mikoto was a powerful being; the only utterance of her name scared many Yokai, even the fearful Tsukuyomi respected her.

Following her tragic death, her eldest son sought protection for his younger brother, and that was when he came into contact with the former head of the Kyubi no Kitsune Clan. Unlike his brother, Itachi mastered his powers and was powerful for a half-Yokai, which astonished the Kitsune who immediately asked him to join her clan, promising to protect his brother.

Sasuke was oblivious to everything, put under the care of Nurarihyon’s Hyakki Yako, as both clans were working on improving their twisted relationship.

Even though almost two centuries had passed, Sasuke was still ignorant to the truth of his family, as requested by Itachi.

Naruto sighed as they arrived at the princess’ room. It really was happening. Sakura opened the door, and they entered.

“You came.” The indigo haired princess said as she watched the two men enter her room.

“You don’t seem that happy about it.” Konohamaru smiled, walking to her, “even though you were the one who wanted him to know the most.”

“This and that are two different matters.” She sighed.

As they sat next her, the three young heads of their respective clans eyed each other before Konohamaru said, “Today will be a decisive day, we are finally ready to face tomorrow with open arms.”

Hinata kept silent while Naruto murmured, “I beg to differ; you forced this on me.”

“Circumstances did.” The younger defended.

“Sakura-chan,” Naruto said with a tired voice, “please call for Sasuke.”

She bowed slightly before exiting the room, throwing a discreet dark look at Hinata who ignored the uneasiness she felt.

The room was silent, only the Kitsune’s heavy sighs were heard.

“Naruto-nii-chan, could you stop sighing like that?”

Narrowing his eyes, Naruto sighed again, “You’re sly; you know that?”

At that comment, it was Hinata and Konohamaru who sighed. The princess wondered how her companion would react to what they were about to confess.

Sasuke was surprised when Sakura came to him, requesting he follow her. The pinkette was one of the many people he had come to know through Naruto, but with whom bonds were cut after his brother’s death.

As they approached the room, he could clearly distinguish three different heartbeats; someone else had arrived. The house reeked with the smell of dead bodies, it was well camouflaged, but nothing could deceive the nose of an Inugami; Sasuke could smell both Hinata and Naruto’s scents, but there was no third one. There was only one person he could not smell, only one kind of Ayakashi had no scent.

When Sakura opened the door for him, his eyes widened.

“What is happening here…?”

“Sasuke, please sit down, there are a few matters we need to discuss.” Konohamaru spoke first, knowing that only his words could convince him, despite his presence causing the most confusion.

Sasuke closed his mouth and eyed each person present, before walking over and carefully and sitting in front of them, not letting his guard down. Part of him knew what this was all about.

The silence dominating the room was heavy; Sakura walked in and stood behind her master, leaning her back on the window. Hinata kept her head lowered as if it was her fault.

“First of all, I-”

“I beg your pardon, but can you let me start?” Hinata interrupted, though she seemed reluctant of her words.

He nodded.

Sakura watched silently.

Taking a deep breath, she started, “Even though we have travelled together, there are many things you do not know about me,” she stopped for a moment, raising her heard to look at him, “such as my true identity. My name is Hyuga Hinata; the sixteenth Princess of the Hyakume clan.”

The princess could see his surprise, despite his stoic face, while behind her Sakura tensed.

“Upon my awakening, I was sent as a messenger by my elders; I had no instructions, all I was told was to find the heads of both the Hyakki Yako and the Kyubi no Kitsune clans; respectively Konohamaru and Naruto-kun.”

She then stopped at nodded to Konohamaru, who continued.

“Way before the retirement of my grandfather, the latter had tried to make bonds with the Kyubi no Kitsune clan, and somehow succeeded.”

 _‘The irony.’_ Hinata thought bitterly.

“My clan and Naruto’s clan are allies; unknown to both you and many of the clansmen.” Nurarihyon said, “I kept this information in the dark as there are still few complications.”

There was no need for further explanation, he understood what it meant. His blood was already boiling in his veins.

“As you have deduced, I have been leading you down a _dead path_.”

His heart skipped a beat.

“During my reunion with Hinata, we made an alliance, and I talked to her about my relation with the Kyubi no Kitsune clan.”

At that moment, feeling the Inugami’s rage, Naruto stepped in, “Konohamaru had been doing it under my demands, and he feels bad about it.”

Sasuke shot him dark glare, but the blond ignored it and continued.

“I am Uzumaki Naruto, the second head of the Kyubi no Kitsune clan. Even though you have ignored this all these years, I, on the other hand, know everything about you....” He stopped, “And Itachi.” He paused, hoping to give Sasuke a moment to process what they were telling him.

“After Itachi and you were separated, he joined my clan, which was lead by my predecessor at the time.”

Sasuke’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Even though he was only a half-Yokai, he was very skilled; at some point he became a spy and joined a mysterious organization to gather important information. His mission was top secret and only the previous head knew about it.”

“The organization was lead by a strange scientist who put its members under some strange experiments; unfortunately Itachi did not come out of them unharmed. Being a half-Yokai, his human half was highly damaged, and his Yokai half went berserk, destroying everything.”

“Knowing there was no cure and not wanting to lose himself again, he asked me to kill him.”

After a long silent pause, the Inugami crossed his arms and said, “Then this does not change either the fact that you killed him, or hat he got involved in that organization because of your clan,”

Hinata, Konohamaru and Sakura looked at him with shocked expressions; it was the only thing he had deduced from everything. He had nothing else to say? _‘Is he an idiot?!!”_

“Actually…” Naruto admitted, “it was your brother who asked to become a spy.”

“What?” It was Konohamaru who snapped. _‘I didn’t know about this.’_

“My predecessor refused because someone was already monitoring that organization, and that his additional involvement was unnecessary, but he repeatedly pleaded, saying that he had to uncover what happened to his father.”

He stiffened. _’Father…?’_

“Sasuke, your brother was precious to that organization and they would do anything to capture you; you are in great danger since they are now aware of your existence. Knowing this, Itachi asked me to hide it from you, but things changed; the enemy has started moving, and you are no longer safe.”

His eyes never left the Kitsune’s, “And you know who they are?” He asked carefully.

“Yes,” The blond said, “I will tell you everything I know, depending on the decision you make.”

“Something you want to say, Sasuke?” Konohamaru asked.

Studying the persons present in the room, Sasuke got up, muttering, “I'll be back.”

Naruto fell backwards on the tatami, whining, “You happy now? Stupid Konohamaru.”

“No. I'm satisfied.”

Hinata silently watched the closed door. Gathering her courage she got up, surprising the others. _He was alone, he should not be alone at such time._

It was Konohamaru who spoke first, “You shouldn’t move, your wound-” but before he could finish his sentence, Hinata was already out of the room.

“It’s fine; the wound already closed.” Sakura interjected.

“I expected no less from you, Sakura-chan!” The blonde said, but the pinkette did not pay attention to him; closing her eyes, she let go of a breath she had been holding.

The indigo haired princess walked slowly, not knowing where she was going, but kept moving forward nonetheless; the wooden floor creaked lightly under her feet. She descended the stairs and opted for the garden, where she eventually found him.

“Are… you okay?” She asked, little hesitant as she sat beside him. The princess watched him, hands entwined, head lowered, seeming to be thinking deeply.

“Yeah...”

He was not, that was obvious, but she did not want to push further.

“How did you find us?” He asked, suddenly; she had noted that changing subjects was his way of dealing with his conflicted emotions; her hands twitched, she wanted to touch him, hug him maybe, but she knew it wasn’t the best thing to do.

“I had a premonition,” Hinata swallowed hard, joining her small hands together, “In which you died.”

 _‘I’m glad I made it in time.’_ She earnestly thought as their eyes locked, and she perceived a strange glint in his eyes.

After a short silence, he broke their intense gaze and asked, “Then, the future you see is not absolute?”

“The future is like a tree, it has one trunk and various branches.” She started after a deep breath, “the future I see is not absolute, one small incident and everything changes; it is in constant change. Shion… the previous princess was the only known Hyakume who could foresee an absolute future. Not all Hyakume have the same powers; we vary from one another, unlike other Yokai.”

“I see.”

It was late in the afternoon, and almost time for sunset. Hinata pondered on everything that had happened to her since she met him, her life had changed; she had changed. But she was still unsure if it was for better or worse.

He knew; he knew what was on her mind; Sasuke managed to smile lightly, he could clearly hear her troubled heartbeat.

“Let’s go back.” He said, taking her by surprise.

She looked at him, concern written all over her face, “Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

“I will be by your side, so don’t be afraid.”

He looked at her straight in the eyes, _‘Don’t make promises you cannot keep.’_ He knew that she was bound to leave. Maybe not now, but one day, she would.

“Me? Afraid?” Sasuke retorted, regaining his usual mocking smile, “you must be kidding.”

In a single beat he pressed his lips to hers, taking her by surprise. She was too shocked to actually accept or reject the sudden action, and before she knew it he pulled away, _smirking_.

“W-what was that?” She asked hastily covering her mouth with both hands, cheeks growing warmer.

“A kiss.” The Inugami responded simply.

“I-I know that!”

“Well, it was a small continuation to earlier.” His smirk grew bigger, “shall we go, then?”

The princess was too astonished to move or even speak; still covering her mouth, her face was burning as she tried her best to escape his captivating gaze.

“Stop sulking, it wasn't that bad.”

“It was not. I-I mean- it was…” she sighed, cheeks still burning, “for God’s sake, let’s just get going, they're waiting for us!”

She outpaced him; cheeks flushed, she was too embarrassed to face him or anyone else. But she didn't really mind it. It had been quite sweet.

And then a sudden realization hit her. _‘It w-was my f-first kiss!’_

Sasuke walked silently behind her, not muttering a word; she wondered what he had decided to do from now on. The Inugami was the first one to enter the room; both of them regained their previous positions. The other two kept silent, waiting for him to speak first.

“I am accepting the circumstances, and will take orders from that kid only,” the Inugami said, pointing at Konohamaru, “for now, that is.”

He crossed his hands as the three allies watched him closely; Konohamaru nodded, Hinata smiled and Naruto sighed. Standing behind him next to the door was Sakura who could not help but keep a composed face; her eyes locked with the Kitsune’s. Nodding, she left silently as Sasuke continued his speech.

“But it doesn’t mean that I have abandoned my ideas of revenge; I will take down every single person who hurt my brother. Naruto, if I discover that you are hiding anything else from me, I will kill you.”

“I will make sure to give you all the information I have, I owe you that, and I…” He paused, suddenly lowering his head, “I want to ask a favor of you, princess.”

“There's no need to be so formal, Hinata is fine.” She smiled.

“I need your help to find someone dear to me.”

After checking her house and garden one last time, Sakura made her way back to the room where her guests were.

“Naruto everything is ready, shall we go?” Sakura asked as she entered the room, adjusting her short hair into a ponytail.

“Yeah,” Naruto said, getting up, “let’s get going.”

“Where?”

Eyeing them with a foolish grin, the blonde responded, “To my mansion –dattebayo!”

* * *

 

Omake:

The melodic pitter patter of the rain ceased lightly in the city; a young woman ran across the empty streets of the capital. The moon shone dimly through the dirty clouds.

The young blonde woman took a turn, but alas! It was a dead end. Upon turning her head, her pursuer was already behind her; there was no escape.

“Who are you?” she asked warily, as a serpentine tail appeared from her back and her tongue hung loose.

“You’re not a Hone-Onna…” The bandaged man murmured, “Well, it doesn’t matter.”

As he put his hand on his gigantic sword, a sharp cry was silenced by the night.

“I will find you,” He whispered, licking the blood off his hand, “Wherever you are, my _little mouse…_ ”

And the rain swallowed the city once again.

* * *

**A/N:**

***Nekomata: is a kind of cat yōkai. There are two very different types, the beast that lives in the mountains, and the ones raised domestically that grow old and transform.**

***Tamamo-no-Mae: a wellknown vile Kitsune, one of the Three Great Evil Yokai.**

***Abe no Seimei: was an _onmyōji_ , a leading specialist of  _onmyōdō_  during the middle of the Heian Period in Japan. In addition to his prominence in history, he is a legendary figure in Japanese folklore.**

***Shikigami: It is thought to be some sort of Kami, which could be summoned by Onmyoji to fight Yokai and evil powers.**

***Hone-Onna: literally: bone woman, is a being from Japanese legends, which manifests as a skeletal woman.**

**Thank you for reading.**


	14. The Mad Scientist and His Fellow Fools

**Disclamer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto!**

**Theme Song: Rammstein - Mein Herz Brennt (piano version)**

**Edited by: Lady Veilchanblau, my beta reader on fanfiction.net**

* * *

 

**Chapter 13: The Mad Scientist and His Fellow Fools**

 

It was still dark when Kabuto finally arrived to his destination.

The hideout was situated west of the capital, hidden under the woods.

Yakushi Kabuto was a normal man with normal hobbies, and what he loved most were living beings. He adored watching them change, evolve, and react to his experiments; especially Ayakashi.

Before meeting his Master, the bespectacled man used to be human.

A normal human.

Kabuto was an orphan who lived in a temple house run by a gentle woman; he had a normal childhood, and normal friends; a normal life. However; it all changed one night; it occurred on a hot summer night, under weird circumstances. Kabuto had found himself between two frightful beings. After a game of cat and mouse he was captured and about to be eaten, but a voice called for those creatures and they let go of him. It was a deep and hoarse voice, there was no gentleness to it, nor was there a threat.

He simply watched as the man with the hoarse voice approached him, and looked at him from above. He outstretched an arm, and Kabuto held it, with no questions asked.

At the moment his eyes met the man’s, he understood that his life was about to change.

The first years he spent with his master were magical; he came to know of the existence of the night life; Yokai, Gods… everything was true; everything related to the Shinto and horror stories he used to hear about, everything Kabuto had believed was a lie. But then, he saw life and its meaning under a new light; under the light of the moon.

He enjoyed discovering the different traits of Yokai, creatures of the night that fear nothing, how they felt, how they reacted to the sight of blood, how they fought, how they consumed human flesh.

But what he enjoyed above all was playing with their minds, each one of them reacted differently to his experiments; it was just marvelous!

Yokai were more entertaining than humans.

When Kabuto first became a chimera, he discovered the wonders of being an actual Yokai. He also learned many things about them, for instance: their food-chain, their hierarchy, et cetera.

Kabuto was also fascinated by something else, the hybrids.

Gods, on the other hand, were a different matter, and Kabuto had yet to meet one.

At the entry of the hideout, Kabuto crossed paths with an unexpected guest who was leaving.

“Leaving already?” he asked with an evident sarcastic tone, his eyes locked with the bluenette’s.

The woman with piercings glared at him openly, not minding to respond.

Kabuto stood still, and watched as the woman disappeared in the gloom of the night. He smirked. That creature, for example, was one of his favorite playthings; Konan, the most powerful chimera the world had come to know, the Kirin. Unlike him and other chimeras, the Kirin was a holy creature which was formed by itself; in Japan it is believed to be the most powerful creature of all, surpassing both the Dragon and the Japanese Phoenix.

Having such an ally was a trump card.

The young man walked down the long passage lighted by candles; it had been numerous years since he began working for his master, and he was now accustomed to these labyrinths; he walked calmly, the clapping of his sandals with the cement floor was the only sound.

The air was thick and humid, the walls replete with paper talismans which prevented the terrific powers and the horrid smell of blood to leak out of the place.

Kabuto stopped at the frame of a large metallic door; knocking was not an option. He leaned forward and pulled open the creaky door. A wave of moist air hit him hard, his eyebrows twitched; years ago he would have automatically brought his hands to his nose, but that smell, that sight. Everything now seemed _normal_ to him.

Entering, he closed the door behind him, searching the laboratory with his eyes. The laboratory was large, and its walls ornamented with shelves full of different sized jars in which rested organs and limbs. In the middle of the room was fixed the metal table of dissection, a body rested on it, and next to it were tables containing various materials. The numerous lit candles were blinding. Kabuto walked into the laboratory upon hearing the sound of two metals hitting each other. He turned right and was met face to face with the person of interest.

“You’re finally back, Kabuto.” A long haired man said as he put down the scalpel with which he was cutting open a limb.

Kabuto looked from the man to his deed, and snorted, “Look who’s talking.”

The man in question smiled at his subordinate’s ironic question, “Is that an adequate manner to take when speaking to your master?”

Their eyes met. Kabuto smirked, “Pardon my rudeness, _Orochimaru-sama_.”

“How was your trip?” Orochimaru asked as he grabbed the scalpel once more.

“I successfully collected the stones, but unfortunately one was destroyed.”

There was a pause.

“By who?”

“Uchiha Sasuke, and a certain young lady named Hinata.”

“Oh, the girl you stabbed.” He said simply.

The young man raised a brow, “You know of her? Moreover, why did you stop me when I was going to finish Naruto-kun?”

“Because getting rid of him would have been a mistake.”

“Why?” Kabuto had always hated when his master kept interesting matters hidden from him.

“The Hyakume are back,” he smiled, “ _that child_ told me so.”

Time stopped to a slow for Kabuto, _Hyakume_ , “I-impossible…!” He put his hand on his face, smirk widening and eyes glittering.

 _Hyakume… Hyakume…_ The feared Hyakume clan, brought down during The Sixty Days Carnage by Nurarihyon and his Hyakki Yako.

Hyakume… the most fascinating creature he had read about, and had only dreamt of encountering.

“You seem much happier about this than I am.”

“I am.” The onyx eyed young man confirmed, adjusting his glasses. He wanted to leave that discussion for later.

And then, his mind noted something else, “But to think that _that cursed child_ would actually one day come in handy.”

Orochimaru smiled; he put down the scalpel and wiped his hands, then walked to the table of dissection and glanced at the open body displayed on it, “Well, that child is special, after all.”

He took out laboratory gloves from the shelves next to him and wore them before he started to take out the bloody intestines, “But it seems that the child did not find anything related to the Sesshoseki.”

“Maybe we aren’t searching in the right place.” Kabuto pointed out, studying his master, and the latter hummed his response, prompting Kabuto to speak up.

“As the legend says, the Sesshoseki belongs to a powerful Kitsune, but Naruto-kun and his predecessors are not the only existing ones out there; though, I am sure it is connected to them.”

Taking out the heart, Orochimaru studied it closely under the candles before responding, “Either way, we will find it,” he said, holding the bloody human heart in his hands, “I will find that precious power and make it mine.”

Kabuto moved around the laboratory and put down the stones he had collected inside a shelf; turning his head he caught a glimpse of a familiar redhead. Walking to her, he eyed her.

 _‘Still alive, huh?’_ he raised a brow; she was chained as usual, the marks of the last experiment were still present on her skin. As they drugged her daily to keep her tamed, her powers had lessened and the regeneration took more time.

“Oh, right, Kabuto, I need you to do some more experiments on this little fellow.” Orochimaru stated, having taken off his filthy lab gloves and coat.

“I’m really amazed by her; I can’t believe she is still alive after all she has been through.”

“Well, she is not _that woman’s_ relative for nothing.” The silky haired serpent smiled, brushing her red hair off her face. “What a beautiful _puppet._ ”

She was an important object of experiments, _‘and an important person to Naruto-kun.’_ He smirked.

The devilish night was still young.

* * *

 

Omake:

“I’m hungry, and tired!” A young boy whined, “and hungry!!”

A vein popped on the forehead of the blonde who was next to him, “Seriously, Choji! For God’s sake take this seriously, will you!”

“Stop nagging, you bothersome woman.” Sighed a third party.

“You shut up, Shikamaru.” The blonde shouted, pointing an accusing finger.

“But Ino–”

“No buts!” Ino said, “We are finishing this tonight!”

“This is too tiresome.”

“I don’t want to hear this from a lazy person like you.” She nagged, _‘Seriously! Can’t they do this properly for once?’_

“Why are we doing this, anyway?” Asked Choji, frowning as his stomach growled.

The blonde glared at him before responding, “Naruto is coming back with important people.”

“From whom did you hear that?” It was Shikamaru’s turn to ask, raising a brow.

“Well, _my superior_ seems to entrust important information to me, unlike some people here!”

At that point Choji took out a chips bag, from God knows where, and started eating, “Ah, I know about that too, simply forgot.” Remembering this kind of thing was not his forte.

“Why was I the only one left out?”                                                                            

“Cause your superior is the stupidest.” Ino pointed out before she started to shout at Choji.

 _‘Naruto, what the hell did you do this time?’_ The spiky haired man thought, getting back to work.

* * *

**A/N:**

**The first real glimps on the main (?) antagonists!**

**Thenk you for reading.**

 


	15. Uchiha Itachi - Part I

**Disclamer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

**Theme Song: Evanecsence - Exodus.**

**Edited by Lady Veilchenblau!**

* * *

 

**Chapter 14: Uchiha Itachi – Part I**

 

The sun was shining brightly. Orochimaru walked casually in the woods under a path of fire-colored maple trees. The sun's rays would blind him from time to time. The path was covered with fallen leaves; he secretly enjoyed walking through the woods in the fine cool mornings of fall as it provided him an incomprehensible feeling of ease. He hummed a lullaby pleasant to the ears.

Today was a beautiful day.

Kabuto was back with valuable information and stones. The days had rolled around without a fuss when he was away- the long haired man either stayed in the hideout to conduct experiments or went out to collect things he needed, but now that his trusted right hand man was back, he could finally start making his move. Everything was in place: the kings, the queens, the rooks, the knights, the bishops and the _pawns_. He smirked. Everyone was a player in his dreadful game, whether they liked it or not, they were all involved and it was too late to back out.

They were five-hundred years late, and everything was caused by one mistake the first Nurarihyon had made. A mistake that was going to cost them dearly…

Living creatures were the most entertaining show he would ever watch. He stopped and stood under a maple tree, titling up his head. He smiled as he looked at a beautifully colored autumn butterfly struggling in the irregular, tangled, sticky silken fibers of the black widow’s web.

How beautifully tragic it was. The innocent and harmless flying insect got trapped in the web of the horrendous and monstrous cannibal.

Orochimaru found the scene magnificent, as the spider rushed over the butterfly before it could extricate itself and bite it, then wrap it in silk. It would wait before it consumed its liquefied prey, but he adored spoiling others’ fun. Taking out a small jar out of his sleeve, the scientist caught the black insect. He watched with fascinated eyes as the spider tried to get out of the jar in vain; despite being the winner of the previous battle, the spider was now the loser. Defeated by an unseen enemy.

In the end, survival was only meant for the strongest.

When he started walking back to the hideout, his thought drifted to one specific raven-haired Inugami.

Uchiha Itachi.

He smirked; his current advances in research were all thanks to the experiments he had done on him, even if in the end he became an unsuccessful puppet, Orochimaru still needed him.

And soon, very soon, Uchiha Sasuke would make a wonderful replacement.

-:-:-:-:-

As soon as the gigantic wooden doors were opened, Hinata gasped at the sight of numerous people aligned at both sides forming a pathway as they bowed. Their number was infinite, and Naruto walked in without making a sound, followed by his guests. The doors closed and no one raised their head. In the front stood three silhouettes who were not bowing, that Hinata was able to identify as they made their approach. Three men: the one on the left was a muscled dark-skinned man tattooed, on the face, who stood firmly under the burning sun of the late morning, his brows furrowed, thick arms crossed over his chest –granting more presence to the eight swords hung on his back. On the left was a seemingly tired young man with spiky hair who had not stopped yawning since they entered; his eyes were lazily half open, and next to him was the shortest of the trio, he was the most outstanding person amongst the three characters because of his messy-grey hair, pink pupiless eyes that watched them closely approaching and a stitched scar down his left eye.

Naruto stopped by them, raised his right hand in the air and everyone around them stood up straightly. The thick air of morning passed by the eight figures who stood in front of each other, and the shortest one was the first to speak.

“Welcome back, Commander.” He said, and then gave the new faces a cursory glance.

“Thank you, Yagura.” He responded, “as you know, I was supposed to leave the town few days ago, but because of some complications I was held back.”

“As long as you’re alive and kicking, it’s great – _yo!_ ” The big man said as he moved his hands weirdly in the air, “and these people are?”

Clearing his throat Naruto began the introduction, “B, Yagura, Shikamaru, these are my unexpected guests that I would like you to welcome. Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuga Hinata and the very well known Sarutobi Konohamaru. Everything else will be discussed later on.”

Hinata could sense the unwelcoming gazes from the Yokai around them that were directed to Nurarihyon –they all knew who he was and they weren’t happy of his presence. Despite that they all kept silent and uttered no words of disapproval. At that moment Hinata felt the reigning power of the Kyubi.

“Someone will accompany our guests to their chambers,” Naruto said, turning his head around to appoint someone for that mission.

“I will do it.” Shikamaru chipped in after his long silence, earning weird glances from everyone present. Hinata could not help but feel the tingling emotion of curiosity; she looked at Naruto, who was more troubled than anyone else.

“Ino or Sakura can–” but the spiky haired young man repeated himself again with a more cool voice.

“I will do it.”

A short silence followed that was interrupted by the sound of munching which was soon followed by a quit nagging, _“Seriously, Choji!”_

Naruto sweat dropped and then resumed talking, “Alright, Shikamaru will accompany our guests to their respective rooms; everything you need will be given to you. Just ask. You will be called later on for lunch. I'll see you then.” He said before walking away.

Behind him a group of Yokai walked, listening carefully to what he seemed to be telling them, and the rest walked on in different directions.

“Please follow me.” Shikamaru said, and the three followed. Hinata was very curious to know who the man in front of them was, he was daring enough to persist in his demands, and Naruto had just silently accepted.

She would glance from time to time at her companions: Konohamaru would notice her and flash a smile, and Sasuke would just ignore her, as if he had not noticed her. Hinata knew that the Inugami could hear her crazy heartbeat, and she did not like the way he was ignoring her. He had not uttered a single word to her since the time they were at Sakura’s house; how could he not? Why would he not?

And that was irritating and frustrating. Hinata was furious. How could he act like that, was that…that… _that_ kiss nothing to him? Not that Hinata wanted it to mean something, no, but why would he act a way than switch to another way? It was obviously a game to him. Hinata gritted her teeth; she hated liars and deceivers and in no circumstances did she want to play along with his silly games.

Hinata made up her mind: Uchiha Sasuke was no more, and that was final.

The princess lifted up her chin and walked with confidence behind their guide. For God’s sake, she was a leader, a clan head, a _princess._ Not a whore from the red-light district. Just because she had been nice to him did not mean that he could mistreat her –she was superior to him. She was a princess and from now on she would act like one.

They did not walk for too long, after going past the main building and the gardens they arrived to a smaller building of three floors. If Hinata thought that the building was well done from the outside, she had yet to see the inside. When the guarded doors were open, Hinata looked around with wide, amazed eyes. The fine maroon wood gleamed beautifully under the sun's rays that intruded through the carved wooden panels. Both the painted folding screens and sliding panels harbored blue colored art. The first floor was a marvelous blend of maroon and blue.

“This is your room, Sasuke.” Shikamaru said pointing at the door next to him, “It was prepared,” he emphasized, “especially for you. If you need anything, ring the bell and a servant will come.” Then he walked toward the stairs with the two others on his tail, Sasuke did not speak to thank the man –not that he ever thanked anyone– and Shikamaru did not wait for him to do so. Hinata, on the other hand, did not spare a glance to the Inugami who stood by his door and the latter noticed that all too well.

Upon entering the second floor they were met with the same décor, but the coloring was different, it was green. Shikamaru bowed and opened the door for the Nurarihyon; Hinata smiled and slightly bowed to the young head who did the same, and continued her walk behind the guide. The third floor had yet again the same décor and a different color, a fierce red, and by then Hinata was intrigued. It did not seem like a simple stylistic choice.

“And finally, this is your room.” He said opening the door for her. By far, that room was definitely the finest she had seen since leaving her clan's shrine.

 “These scrolls contain the information Naruto had promised you.” She nodded.

Shikamaru explained to her what seemed to be the usefulness of everything in her room, he shifted lazily from place to place and she followed him with her eyes. What was he trying to accomplish? He had not given Sasuke and Konohamaru this much attention. He did not seem to be plotting something; rather, he seemed like a normal person –like a human. Just who was this man?

“Every floor has different colors.” She found herself stating, Shikamaru looked at her pensively for a moment before answering her unasked question.

“Every floor is guarded by different Yokais whose duty is to watch over our guests. Everything done and said here is watched and recorded.” He was not threatening her. On the very contrary, he was warning her.

She felt relieved to be told the truth, after all that happened she was not up for more lies and games, “Thank you for your honesty, not everyone would have said the truth.”

“Lying is too bothersome.” He yawned, “Someone will come later to call you for lunch, for now please have some rest.”

After Shikamaru left, Hinata found herself alone in her enormous room. She took off her haori and sat on the futon for a bit then lied down; her body was heavy on her, and her eyes started closing little by little. She yawned and decided to sleep for now; someone would come for her later, so it was okay.

She wanted to sleep, yes, she needed to sleep; the scrolls, her duty, Nurarihyon, Kyubi, Sasuke… everything could wait for later. Yes, she still had time.

And before her mind could produce another thought, her eyes closed and she drifted to dreamland.

-:-:-:-:-

There were very few things Choji loved.

He loved food; oh yes! He _adored_ food. For him food was everything, it was sacred and he could not imagine his life without it.

Right below food was Shikamaru and Ino his most loved and trusted friends. Being an orphan, Choji was raised within the clan by many different people and he did not know what parents were for until he understood what the world they lived in was. When he became six years old, Choji could not help but wonder what the parents every other child talked about were; being too troubled with his thoughts he went to ask his only friends.

_“I think parents are the ones who tell you bedtime stories, give you food and wash your clothes, or something like that.” Ino inquired with a finger on her chin. She then turned to face Shikamaru, “what do you think parents are, Shikamaru?’_

_Shikamaru who had been pretending since the beginning of the discussion to be asleep answered lazily, “Thinking is too bothersome.” And Ino puffed her cheeks out. It was then that Choji asked something ‘logical.’_

_“If parents are what Ino says, then doesn’t that make everyone in the clan our parents?”_

_At that, Shikamaru opened his eyes and straightened up to sit, what Choji saw in his friend’s eyes was incomprehensible for him at that time, “Why do you need to know anyway? Aren’t you satisfied with your current life? Why would you need parents when you have Ino and me?”_

_Ino’s eyes rounded as if the spiky haired boy had said something smart for the very first time and Choji kept silent, too preoccupied with his thoughts._

It was until he became a little bit older that he understood what parents were, and by then, not having parents didn't bother him, as he was sure that the only people he truly needed in his life were Shikamaru and Ino.

It was lunch time and everyone started to go to the dining hall; everyone but him. Choji hated to be the last to arrive and _eat._ Despite knowing that they would all be waiting for the guests before they started eating, he hated the fact that he was going to be late.

To ease his growling stomach a little, he took out a set of three onigiri from his kimono sleeve and started eating as he walked toward the building reserved for guests.

Choji was probably the only person in the clan to not be worried or even remotely curious about the latest events that had happened in the clan: neither the fight that had ensued that very morning between Kankuro and Killer B, which almost destroyed the main building- thank the lords that Yagura had been present and stopped the fight before further blood could be shed. Nor the sudden apparition of Nurarihyon and Sasuke, accompanied by Naruto. Perhaps the only thing that really worried him was the mysterious disappearance of their clan’s redhead Yuki-Onna. Naruto had made everyone in their clan search for his relative around the whole country, but she was never found. Some said –making the head angry– that she must’ve died and of course Naruto did nothing but object and refuse the only _probable_ truth.

Upon arriving to the doorstep of the building, the rounded young man ate the last onigiri with a big gulp and stepped in. He decided to be cautious and very refined with their guests, not wanting to be penalized by the council later on when they watched the records of the guarding Yokai. He climbed the stair directly to the last floor where the princess resided. He stopped by her door, adjusted himself, and knocked.

No response.

He knocked again, and was met by nothing. He stopped for a moment and thought about what do. Knocking harder was his first option. And so he did, but no one responded. Rather, there was no sound coming out of the room. He looked right and left then walked to the washroom of that floor and knocked. Nothing. He opened the door and it was empty; she had to be in her room because there was no way she could leave the building. So he went to her room once again and knocked harder.

 _‘Is she dead?’_ Was the first thing that popped up in his mind, and the only message that her sleeping mind received.

Hinata woke up with a chill upon hearing that thought in her head, she stood up hastily and was overtaken by dizziness. She felt embarrassed, since when was that person behind the door? She inhaled fresh air, fixed her clothes and hair then sat on the tatami and gave permission to the knocker to enter. The door was open and a brunette appeared; the young man was tall and round. The chest of his clothes had the kanji for ‘food’ sewn into it. He bowed and she spoke.

“I apologize for not responding earlier, I was–” Sleeping? Hell no, “busy.”

“Excuse my rudeness, my lady.” The man in front of her said, “My name is Choji and I was sent by Naruto to summon you for lunch, it would please us if you honored us with your presence.”

“Thank you,” she said a bit surprised that he called his master by his first name, and especially without using honorifics. “I will join you in few minutes.” She promised, and closed the door behind her. Hinata then walked to the wall closet and took out a golden colored kimono; she held the silk fabric in her hand, gave it one simple glance, and knew it was a pricey one. Unlike the Hyakki Yako, the current Kyubi no Kitsune clan had a better financial status.

Hinata took off her own clothes and started wearing what was given to her. Time had changed many things. In her era, Nurarihyon’s Hyakki Yako was Japan’s most powerful Yokai faction, it had political, financial and social ties- and power. As for the Kyubi no Kitsune clan, it was at that time a newly formed clan that had only just begun to climb the stairs toward power. The respective first heads of both clans were clever Yokai who knew how to lead their people, which had only resulted in a fated rivalry.

Fixing her hair and checking herself one last time in the glass, the princess made the black color of her eyes fade to their original color, lavender.

She opened the door and faced her new guide with a smile; he nodded and asked to be followed. They climbed down the stairs and Choji asked for the presence of the other two guests, who accepted to follow him.

Instead of taking the road they came by earlier, Choji took them in the opposite direction and just like their previous guide he was not much of a talker. As she walked next to Konohamaru, she turned her head to the left and caught the gaze of the Inugami. Their eyes met and Hinata quickly turned her face away from him.

It did not take them long before they arrived at their destination, and entered. They took off their sandals at the entryway and stepped inside the wooden-floored hall wearing slippers. There was a strange atmosphere reigning in the wide hall, it was warm and fuzzy; different Yokai chatted with one another in a casual manner, they talked, smiled, laugh.

Glancing around, Hinata noticed in the front extremity of the hall one single low table. It had five places, with Naruto seated at the head of the table. Down from it was another single low table, set with eight places that were mostly vacant.

Despite the faint murmurs their arrival in the hall made, the Yokai were composed and calm and that amazed the princess. Choji guided them toward the table where the head of the clan was sat, who upon seeing them gestured for them to sit with him. Their guide was dismissed and Hinata saw him sit down at a table down from them, next to Sakura.

Konohamaru seated himself to the Kyubi’s right and Hinata to the left.

Despite the fact that every species of Yokai had different diets, they were all able to consume normal food, and it was proven by the richly varied plates and drinks on the tables. Clearing his throat to gain the attention of all present, Naruto raised his cup, “I offer this toast to my guests and all of you for being here today!” A wave of cheers was heard right after he drank his toast and everyone started eating.

Hinata’s eyes traveled from Yokai to Yokai in the dining hall before Naruto's voice shook her out of her thoughts, encouraging her to eat too. She took her chopsticks and did the same as everyone. If Hinata had seen the Kyubi as a serious person previously, she was now seeing him as a child.

“Ichiraku’s ramen really is the best!” He said joyfully.

In front of her, Konohamaru was eating silently his food, and so was the Inugami. She could feel her heart stirring in her chest, so strangely, as she looked at him. Bashfully, she took her eyes off the raven haired young man.

Sitting at the table down from them, Hinata recognized two of the men who welcomed them by the door: Yagura and B, if she recalled well. With them sat a petite female who did not stop blabbering with B who was in front of her; she stuffed boldly enormous quantities of food in her mouth all at once. The girl’s eyes were a fierce orange color, and her hair a mint green. Sitting at the extremity of the table, with Yagura next to him, was a soundless redheaded young man whose clothes matched the color of his hair, and Hinata noticed a kanji tattooed on his forehead –it read _Love_. The other four places were empty.

Naruto noticed Hinata looking pensively around her as she ate, so he spoke, “The table next to us is reserved to my eight Generals, and as you can see most of them are absent.”

He continued with his explanation as the three guests by his table glanced at him, “and behind each General, on the tables next to them, sits their lieutenants. There is no order to the other tables, the Yokai sit where they like…”

Hinata nodded, but it was Konohamaru who spoke, “So you eat in the presence of your clansmen frequently?” Sasuke kept silent, yet one could notice him listening carefully.

“Always,” Naruto said and Nurarihyon raised a brow, “I have family meals with my clan thrice a day, _every day_.”

The clan existed only to serve the princess and they were not to be regarded as more. That was what Hinata had always been taught and despite not liking it, she had lived by that. _Family_ was not how Hinata had regarded her clan, never, and now it hurt her.

“Family?” The previously silent Sasuke snorted and the princess was snapped out of her thoughts, “you regard your people as your family? Are you stupid or what?”

Konohamaru looked at his clansman next to him from the corner of his eyes, yet made no comment- proving that he had the same thought. On the other hand, Naruto did not seem disturbed by the Inugami’s words and grinned foolishly, “Call me stupid or naïve if you like, but nothing would change my vision. For me, my clan is everything: they are my people, my pawns, my friends and my family; being a clan formed out of many sub-clans made it quite difficult to lead, but after much effort and sacrifices I can say that we were able to form unbreakable bounds.”

Sasuke scoffed and Konohamaru kept on eyeing the Kyubi strangely.

“ _Family_ , huh?” Hinata muttered, _‘must be nice.’_

“And to be honest–” before the blond could finish his sentence a takoyaki ball hit him on the forehead. Hinata blinked with wide eyes and glanced around: the hall fell silent, and a voice cried out,

“FOOD FIGHT!”

And then, all hell broke loose.

-:-:-:-:-

Hinata did not know what was worse, the fact that she had been pelted with rice balls earlier, or that Naruto- who was supposed to stop the huge mess- had instead participated in it. The fight did not stop as fast as it started – it took an angry young brunette with her hair in two buns and a very furious Choji who kept screaming _‘stop wasting food!’_

Everyone present in the hall had participated in the ruckus at the exception of the three guests, the two who stopped it, Yagura, a sleepy Shikamaru, and the lone redhead. It wasn’t known who had started the food fight, but they were all grounded even, no– _especially_ Naruto.

Now moved to the gardens, after cleaning themselves, the three guests sat on futon cushions in a tatami floored room in the company of Naruto and his four Generals.

“My sincere apologies for the mess earlier,” Naruto said, scratching the back of his head. Sasuke clicked his tongue, and the other two kept silent.

“Your apologies don’t stand, you quite gladly participated.” The redhead cut in, folding his arms over his chest.

“But it was fun! You should have tried it, Gaara, and then maybe you would stop being such a grump.” The green haired girl retorted, puffing her cheeks out at him.

Gaara darkly narrowed his eyes at the petite girl who flinched and let out a soft, nervous giggle.

“What happened, happened. So let’s not ponder much on it, we have a lot to talk about, after all.” B said, and Naruto sent him a grateful look.

“How about you do the introductions again, Naruto?” Yagura asked.

Naruto glanced to his right, “I present to you Gaara, my first General, and next to him Yagura, my third General,” the two nodded in acknowledgement to their guests. “And these two are Fū and B, respectively my seventh and eighth Generals.”

“Hello!” Fū cheered, happily waiving at them.

“Nice to meet you again _–yo~_!” B added.

“As I had told you earlier, I was held back from my travels because of some complications I met in the road. Complications called Uchiha Sasuke.”

Naruto continued to talk even when the brunette with buns, who stopped the food fight earlier, entered from the open doors. She sat down on the tatami and placed a tray of tea on the low table that separated the guests from their hosts; Hinata noticed the long, lingering gaze the redhead gave the girl.

“The fight that ensued between us right afterwards was put out by one of Orochimaru’s men, Yakushi Kabuto.” The three Generals furrowed their brows.

“Oh! That bespectacled gray haired man?” Fū chimed in, to which all eyes turned to her.

“You know him?”

“Know isn't really the right word. I only met him once, and he's quite the diplomat!”

“Why did you keep quiet about this?” Gaara asked menacingly and she tensed at his tone.

“How would I know he was an enemy?! All he did was ask me about the clan. He was so kind about it, I couldn’t have doubted him.”

“No knowing him is enough reason to doubt him.” Yagura said in a cool voice, “and asking about our clan is suspicious enough by itself.” Fū then seemed to understand how easily she had been deceived, and how she could have put the clan in danger. She lowered her head, eyes beginning to brim with tears.

B then put a hand on her shoulder, “Don’t take it to heart, Fū. But they are right.”

“What did he ask, and what did you tell him?” Naruto took over the conversation again, this time with a serious voice. The guests did nothing but look with stupefaction at the scene in front of them.

“Nothing much,” she said, suppressing her tears, “he asked about your whereabouts and at that time you were out of town…and I just said that…”

“That?”

“That you'd probably pass by Ichiraku’s place when you come back.”

The blond smacked his forehead with his palm and Yagura sighed soundly, the others remained silent as B patted her back. Feeling nostalgic, because she too used to be like her; taking her courage in her hands, Hinata got up and they all gazed at her as she walked to Fū.

“We all make mistakes. So... don’t cry.” She said softly as her hands gently brushed away tears. Fū, overwhelmed by emotions, threw herself on the chest of the princess. Taken aback, but trapped in the girl's arms, Hinata couldn’t help but hug her back.

“I hope that you learned your lesson.” Gaara said, turning his gaze away from the scene. His eyes accidently met Tenten’s, who quickly turned away and continued her forgotten deed of serving tea.

Naruto cleared his throat once more and said, “Finally, I would like to introduce to you Hyuga Hinata, the sixteenth princess of the Hyakume clan.” If Yagura and Gaara were surprised, they did not show it.

“Hyakume clan?” Fū said, eyes alight with excitement as she held the princess’ hands between hers, “the Hyakume clan that was annihilated by Nurarihyon a long time ago?”

Hinata’s eye twitched at the bold question. “We were not _annihilated_.” She answered, trying not to sound very harsh, ignoring the look Konohamaru was giving her. B could not help but stay silent.

Their little discussion seemed to be a long one.

Leaning over the balcony, the beautiful blonde Yokai clicked her tongue in a rather gloomy _‘tut-tut.’_ Sakura, who was leaning on the wall next to her, could not help but feel uneasy at the eerie conduct of her _friend_. The only apparent blue eye of the blonde watched the little group chatting with a critical look.

“She’s cute.” The blonde said, stopping her annoying clicking.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. “....So..?” She responded.

The blonde kept silent for a moment, and Sakura could not help but wonder how she was able to stay in such an uncomfortable position for so long, and she then heard her breath a long hum.

“It’s so beautiful.”

Sakura furrowed her brows. “Stop talking nonsense, Ino-pig.” Unlike usual, the blonde ignored the insult, and continued contemplating downstairs.

“You know,” Ino started, “they’re not seeing it.” Sakura huffed, which made Ino giggle.

“Seriously, Sakura, try acting a little bit interested. And be patient.”

Not wanting to get into an unnecessary argument which would end up fruitless, Sakura pushed herself to the side to straighten up, and then walked toward Ino. Sakura waited silently for her friend to talk; the waiting was becoming unbearable.

Sensing her friend, Ino sighed with raised brows, “You won't get his heart with that attitude of yours, you know.”

“You won't get _anyone’s_ heart with that attitude of yours, you know!” She mimicked.

“So childish.”

“So irritating.”

“Forehead.”

“Pig.”

“Billboard brow.”

“Ugly boar.”

“Flat chest, and I’m not ugly so it doesn’t count.” Ino said as a matter of fact, and Sakura rolled her eyes.

“Are we really doing this?”

“You started it.”

“I give up.”

Ino smirked.

“You know,” the platinum blonde said after a moment of silence, “They’re blind, all of them.” Sakura gave a look of disbelief, “Even Yagura, who’s supposed to be the smartest of the group.”

She titled her head to the right as if to angle some idea, “It started as a mission, then a feeling, a melody, a touch… and the end will not be as beautiful.”

As if attracted by Ino’s morbid words, Hinata looked up and her eyes locked with the blonde’s. The latter took a step back after a moment –eyes wide and mouth open.

“Are you all right, Ino?” Sakura said, putting her hand on the blonde’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” she muttered turning around to walk away, leaving a dumbfounded Sakura behind.

Sakura had not seen it. Ino stopped in the corridor, a hand on her face. She leaned tirelessly against the wall to seek support. Sakura had not seen the words that the princess had just said. And it was better that way.

This was going to be entertaining.

-:-:-:-:-

Down the hall, in a room opened to the view, three people sat silently; the low table which had tea served on it was the only material that separated them by a few centimeters. The night was freezing and the frequent cold wind that flew past them went unnoticed and unfelt, as they were all too lost in thought to actually notice the harshness of the night. Each one of them had their gaze and thoughts on different matters.

The Kyubi’s clan held among its clansmen Yokai of different race, power, age, gender, and of course _rank_. Right below the Supreme Commander came the Eight Generals who were themselves heads of their own clans that had made a peace treaty with the second head of the Kyubi clan; by binding themselves to the Kyubi no Kitsune Clan, the latter provided them with different services in exchange for their power and loyalty. Below the Eight Generals came their lieutenants; in absence of their general, the lieutenant could take the leading position when needed. Each division –or small clan– had different squads and units that obey no one but their General, yet, in the end, the Supreme Commander held all power on his people. As for the advisors and council, they were directly bound to the Kyubi.

Today, the Kyubi no Kitsune Clan was the biggest Yokai faction in Japan.

The three lieutenants of Generals had their eyebrows furrowed.

Tenten took possession of her cup, drinking slowly, not really minding if it was already cold. Naruto had involved himself in something unnecessary. The Uchiha would bring nothing but headaches, she knew it. She knew it too well, and the sudden apparition of the young head of the Hyakki Yako was about to bring unpleasant vibes within the Kyubi clan. Not everyone knew about the _friendly_ relationship the two clans now shared; not everyone would be pleased by it. It would take a great deal to convince both the Generals and the clansman, and it would probably cost them dearly. Naruto was stupid. Kindhearted, _and stupid_. She sighed and looked at her two companions; two of the few people she trusted. Tenten did not trust people, she was not _used_ to trusting people –Yokai or humans–, but after she became part of Naruto’s clan she was able to open up a bit.

To her left the young bespectacled man sat silently, arms crossed over his chest. Wearing a simple kimono, his facial features were hidden by the thick scarf he always wore –even in summer– and his trademark sunglasses. Despite knowing of the obvious conflicts that would soon rise within the clan, the Shokera’s mind was focused on his heavenly missions. It was already sunset and the Koshin-machi night had begun, and soon the three spiritual insects would come for him. Being a death reaper of the Koshin Gods, the Shokera hunt the vile wicked humans who tried to outsmart the Gods; no prayers or talisman could protect them from him. Shino would hunt them all, to the very last one, tonight.

While Tenten and Shino had their minds set on serious matters, the third party who sat boldly –legs crossed, arms crossed, and thick eyebrows furrowed – could not help but feel irritated…and worried. It had been a few days since he last saw his beloved pink flower, and when he finally saw her, she was in an unusually foul mood. Sakura was the type of person who let her feelings show openly, she was an honest and reliable friend –and love interest for him. Even though he did not want to admit it, Rock Lee knew exactly the reason for her current mood: Uchiha Sasuke. He sighed in exasperation, this was getting him nowhere.

Suddenly, his stomach played a rather loud symphony.

Tenten was the only one to look up, she wanted to comment, but opted not to. The brunette simply let out a sigh while Shino did not move an inch.

A faint pink tainted his cheeks at the unwanted growl his stomach made; Lee got up and scratched the back of his neck, “I’m going to the kitchens to eat. Do you want me to get you something?”

“No thanks, I was about to leave anyway.” Again, Tenten was first to react. She stood up next, flashing him a smile of gratitude.

“Going to see Naruto?” He asked, and she nodded; Shino got up soon afterwards, “You’re leaving too?”

“Yes, I have important matters to attend to.”

Lee whined, “And I wanted to spend some time with you!” Tenten heard him mutter some words to himself, something along the line _‘I have no luck.’_ She wondered why he wanted to spend time with her and Shino, as they were doing nothing but sitting around a table few minutes ago.

 _‘It can wait.’_ She reflected. “Sorry Lee. Next time, maybe.”

While Shino made his way to the window, she was the first to walk up to the open door to exit the room, with Lee right behind her. Meeting some _allies_ by the door was a coincidental and _unwanted_ happening. Said allies stopped and gave a long studying look to the two companions, though their chief kept his eyes cold and indifferent, like usual. Shino, on the other hand, was long gone.

The blonde woman was first to break the silence with her high pitched voice. “Well, if it isn’t the cute little birdie and her friend. Who do we have here? It’s been quite a while, what have you been up to? Flying above the heads of your superiors?”

Tenten kept a stoic face while Lee was quick to react, “That is a rather harsh accusation, Temari-san! Tenten makes sure to never fly above them!” The brunette sweat dropped at her friend’s earnest character, he did not get the underlying message under her statement.

The corner of her mouth lifted up in a sarcastic smile, one similar to Temari’s. “Well, at least I'm not an old lady who loves to _lick boots_.”

“Says the one who was beaten to death by me.”

Tenten shrugged, “Did you lose all the fights you had after that one, to be still bragging about it?”

Before the little heated argument of the two young ladies could go any further, the tattooed man stepped between them, “Watch your language in front of the First General,” Temari gave Tenten a triumphant look before Kankuro turned to her, “both of you.”

It was Tenten’s turn to flash triumphant a smile, Lee gladdened when the tension went back to normal, “How’ve you been, Gaara?” he said, approaching the youngest Yokai of the group and giving him a pat on the back.

Kankuro sighed at the lack of response, Tenten rolled her eyes at Lee’s informality with the redheaded General. As Gaara responded with simple answers to the thick browed young man, the brunette excused herself and walked away, she was too absorbed in the hateful gaze of Temari to actually notice the short glance Gaara shot her from the corner of his blue eyes.

The brunette continued her walk toward the personal chambers of Naruto, exchanging formalities with the Yokai she crossed path with. She wondered what kind of silly explanation he would give her, and despite the warnings she was about to give him, she knew he would simply brush her off.

Tenten let out a sigh of exasperation. Reaching his chambers, she entered without bothering to knock.

Naruto sat on the futon, his back straight. He did not need to look up to see who the intruder was, and kept silent, continuing to write. She leaned against the wall next to the door, waiting for him to finish what seemed to be an important deed, before speaking.

After long struggles of thinking, scribbling, doodling, and ripping up, he had finally finished writing the letters; he proceeded in sealing the scrolls right after that before fixing them on the legs of the birds that had been perched on his balcony.

When the birds were long off in the distance he turned around and smiled, “Sorry for the long wait.” He did not need to explain to her what he was writing, because he knew that she understood. They exchanged small casual talks as Naruto cleaned his hands from the ink –he had a bold way of writing. Tenten went to the balcony, watching the usual calm night of Edo. She turned around.

“Shouldn’t you get dressed properly?” Tenten asked, leaning her back against the wooden railing of the balcony. Unlike his casual kimono, Tenten had dressed properly for the evening. She wore a long-sleeved white cheongsam blouse with maroon edges, and maroon puffy pants. Truth to be told, he was a bit disappointed with her choice of clothes. He had hoped she would wear a cheongsam dress, like usual, instead of clothes that were comfortable to _fight in._

Tenten was a predictable person who Naruto could understand easily, and vice versa. Openly speaking her mind, not afraid of consequences or judgments, she always did what her mind told her to; though, he had to confess that she had never, not even once, been wrong, misjudged a person or had been false on their account. Tenten was his eyes.

“Later,” he said, locking his eyes with hers, “we have more important issues to take care of, don’t we?” They both remained silent for a moment as if to recollect all the information they wanted to share with each other.

He was the first to speak up. “Anything new?”

“Aside from what Konohamaru shared with us, we know practically nothing of that serial killer.” She said, with a sigh. Naruto sighed, scratching his head. Such incidents never happened in his territories, this was a first.

He might well have looked for a clue regarding this matter, but it always ended with negative results. Aside from his nickname, they knew nothing about the perpetrator: and that irritated the Kitsune to an extreme point. On top of that, it had to happen at the most critical moment –during the negotiations of the three clans.

The demon of the hidden mist, just who in the world was that person?

Tenten shifted herself from her position and sat next to him. “I have notified everyone, so they should all be on their guard.”

“Good to know.” He said.

They sat in silence for a moment before he spoke again with a cool voice, “I know that you are against my decisions and that you doubt them. I know what will happen from now on, but rest assured I know what I am doing.”

As much as she wanted to punch him, or start a fuss talking about how stupid he was to do such immoral things, Tenten simply smiled. This time she would simply go with the flow of things. She would sit quietly and watch him as he became the leader his mother wanted him to be. She would simply watch, and protect him from the shadows.

If it was his wish, she had no right to go against it.

For Naruto, Tenten could cross any boundaries; he was her reason to continue living in the world that she had grown to hate.

Naruto trusted people easily and could never bring himself to doubt them, so she made it her duty to doubt people in his place. Tenten vowed to look after him after he had saved her from her own self. In the darkness where she was drowning, in a world that wanted her only for her powers, he outstretched his loving hands to her.

_‘From today on, you’re my friend!’_

She looked at him, studying his face. He had grown into a fine young man, his features changed and highlighted his maturity, yet for her, he still looked like that silly child he used to be. She smiled tenderly and brought his face to her chest, hugging him tightly. _‘I will protect you.’_

Naruto knew that she had accepted his decision, so he smiled. Before he could mutter words of gratitude, the doors of his chambers slid open. Tenten was first to look up, pushing the blonde off her chest; she was not that surprised to see who it was.

There was only one person aside from Tenten who could enter his chambers without permission, and Naruto had already sensed him approaching.

“Hey there!” The blond greeted, scratching the back of his neck. The intruder watched the two Yokai with lazy eyes, he did not move for few seconds before sighing in exasperation. “Could you, for once, stop being so bothersome?” The spiky-haired young man said, “You’re giving me a headache.”

“Please don’t be mad!” Naruto interjected and Tenten rolled her eyes.

“I’m not mad –only because getting mad is such a drag. I'm curious. And Concerned.” Shikamaru responded, “And I want answers.”

He looked at the brunette then at the raven haired man and threw himself at the table, faking tears.

-:-:-:-:-

It was almost dinner time and the fairest Yokai of the Kyubi no Kitsune clan, Ino, walked through the corridors to the chambers of their female guest, humming as she went. Hyuga Hinata was an interesting person, and she wanted to find out more about her.

During the afternoon she had a pleasant time in the company of her female friends, gossiping about the sudden appearance of Sasuke. Unlike the others who were preoccupied by the Hyakume and Nurarihyon, Ino and her friends cared more about the attractive Inugami; it was, after all, one of those rare occasions when she could relax a bit.

She would discuss the matters that gave her headaches later on with Yagura.

For now, she wanted to enjoy the moment.

And she knew for sure that she was going to be amused: the fact that Uchiha Sasuke was actually standing near the Hyakume’s chambers was enough proof. _‘Oh, my poor Sakura.’_ She thought, chuckling, as she approached him.

“Sasuke-kun!” She greeted with a high-pitched voice, giving him a tap on the back. The Inugami did not respond, nor did he move. Ino played with her hair, and rested her weight on one leg.

She knew.

And he knew that she knew.

Ino was famed within the clan to be a skilled mind reader; it was not a power, no, more like a gift. She could not _read_ minds, but she understood people’s thoughts from their eyes. And what the Uchiha’s eyes displayed was adorably amusing.

Hyuga Hinata was definitely an interesting person.

She eyed him with hungry eyes –she was hungry for amusement. Sasuke looked at her from the corner of his eyes; he opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it again. Apparently he decided to play in safe ground. As he turned around to walk away, she said, “She’s cute, isn’t she?”

He stopped; he opened his mouth again and wanted to respond, but reason kept him from doing so as he knew how good Ino was at playing mind games.

“She gives that aura of–” she stopped as if trying to choose her words, gesturing blankly with her hands, “ _needing_ to be protected, don’t you think?” The corner of her mouth curled upwards as she noticed a small physical reaction from him.

Bingo.

“But I quite understand why, you know? I actually have sympathy for her, not everyone has had to watch their clan being slaughtered in front of them. It must be hard.”

Sasuke balled his hands into fists. He turned to face the blonde with furrowed eyebrows and dark eyes. She was smiling that same old plastic smile. She did not flinch, move, or even blink; her eyes never left his. Sasuke knew her too well, and he hated that.

Ino had a specific tactic: work someone into a fury then exploit the emotion.

Even though Sasuke knew that, he could not help but get angry. He was furious and he did not know why; there was absolutely no evident reason for him to get furious and irritated, he was not supposed to care as she was not talking about him. Ino was talking about a young woman he only met few weeks ago, he was not related to her and he had no special attachment to her –for Sasuke, a kiss did not mean much. Then it clicked: he had made room for her in his life, he had given her a chance to actually be someone in his life and it was a mistake, a disastrous mistake.

Hyuga hinata intoxicated his thoughts; she intoxicated him.

Sasuke needed to get rid of her; he did not need her, not anymore. Yes, he did not. Now that he had found Naruto and she had done whatever she was here to do, he did not need to involve himself with her any longer. His tense body relaxed.

Releasing a heavy breath, he felt himself lighter.

As he started to walk away, Ino shouted, “Maybe a small ride to Yoshiwara would help.” He could hear the laugh she tried to hide and he growled.

She closed her eyes and her smile widened; it was her win, again.

Ino continued humming the same melody and continued walking. When Uchiha Sasuke wanted to do something, he did it without second thoughts. Sasuke was concerned with the princess, and worried. He wanted to go and see her, but he was actually hesitant to do so –which only meant that something must’ve happened between the two. She smirked.

Every game must be played at the right time.

Arriving to her destination, Ino stopped at the door and knocked, notifying her presence. It took time for her to hear an approval to enter.

She rolled her eyes and slid open the doors; Hinata was sitting on the tatami floored ground, scrolls of different sizes and colors were open all around her. Her lavender eyes seemed to be studying her and Ino felt a little bit uncomfortable. The princess in front of her emitted a whole different aura than the one she had sensed earlier. Ino could smell amusement in the air.

“Good evening, my lady.” Ino said, bowing down.

Hinata looked at the blonde in front of her, she recognized her as one of the lieutenants Naruto had spoken about. After the meeting she had with Naruto and his clansmen around tea, Hinata had stayed in the room she was given, reading the information Naruto had provided her regarding their enemies: the Bakufu, Orochimaru and the Akatsuki. The information was neither complete nor satisfying, but it was all they knew so far. The indigo haired princess wondered why that woman was here. Hinata had a lot to do before tomorrow, and now was not the moment to chat.

“You may rise.” Hinata commanded and Ino did. Their eyes met, and Ino felt shivers run down her spine. She had never met such hollow eyes in her life; it was not because of their color, no. it was something else, something _indescribable_. “State your business.” Hinata tried to not sound too rude, and spoke in a manner that made her guest feel their differences in rank.

Ino adjusted the strand of hair that hid half of her face; she did not seem fazed by Hinata. It looked like the blonde did not really mind those _differences_ and she smiled, “My name is Ino, the lieutenant of General Yagura. It’s almost dinner time, and everyone will soon be going to the main dining hall. So I thought about taking you on a small tour around the mansion before that.”

Hinata sensed no bad intentions and the idea was quite pleasant, she needed some change of view, but what she had in hands was far more important.

“Thank you for the offer, but I am obliged to turn it down,” Hinata responded, “I am busy, as you can see.” The blonde puffed her cheeks surprising the princess. She approached her casually and dropped down next to her, tucking her falling strand of hair behind her ear; Hinata was mesmerized by the beauty of the woman in front of her: her blue eyes highlighted her fair rosy skin, her face was amazingly symmetrical and her platinum blonde hair was like a sublime cascade running down her head.

She took the scroll that was in Hinata’s hands and barely eyed it, “You’re reading about the Bakufu?” She trembled in disgust, “and in Naruto’s handwriting!” Then she tossed the scroll behind her; Hinata’s eyes widened at the sudden informality of the blonde. Before she could voice her protests Ino grabbed her wrists and pulled her up. Hands entwined, Hinata looked with fascination at Ino’s smiling face, her blue eyes glittering with joy. “All that you've been reading, I can tell it to you, so no need to hurt your beautiful eyes with that idiot’s awful handwriting, Hinata!”

“Wait–I…” Her attempt to protest fell on deaf ears and Ino started pushing her to the door; the blonde was incredibly strong too, she looked back at the scrolls on the ground and decided to just leave them be for now.

As they walked through the corridors, Ino started talking about the Bakufu and Hinata listened with open ears. Maybe it was not such a bad idea after all.

When they left the building, they walked a few more steps –Ino’s arm never leaving Hinata’s– before stopping, “This”, Ino said pointing at the building with her free hand, “is the building reserved to guests, as you can see it has three floors and contains about forty-five rooms, six washrooms and a garden.”

They continued walking, Ino smiled and talked to every Yokai they encountered, she showed her the many buildings of the residence stating what they were used for, the gardens, the onsen. The blonde took her around the labyrinth that was the residence of the Kyubi no Kitsune clan and it seemed like a small village where everyone knew each other.

It had been a while. A long while since she had been given the occasion to spend some relaxing time with someone who actually _seemed_ to like being in her presence. Growing up to be the next princess, everyone around Hinata ran from her out of respect and maybe _fear_ –no one wanted to get into trouble with the council. Even her blood-related sister drifted away from her. She smiled bitterly; it felt good to be wanted for a change.

“This afternoon, in the gardens, do you recall what you said to me?”

The princess furrowed her brows, she had not seen the blonde after lunch, so what was she talking about?

Ino smiled, the princess' perplexed expression proved her _thoughts_ right.

“No, forget about it, it’s nothing!” She declared, clasping her hands together before a voice called from behind them.

“Ino, _what_ in the hell do you think you're doing?”

“I'm not doing anything, Sakura.” Ino raised a brow, “and watch your mouth.” She added.

“Then what's this?!” The pinkette said, pointing at the joined hands of the two girls. Quickly walking to them, Sakura separated their hands and apologized, “I deeply apologize for the rudeness of this stupid boar, princess!” Then she gave a furious look to the blonde. “And you!”

“Watch your mouth, billboard brow!” Ino responded as she put a hand around Hinata’s shoulder, pulling her toward her. Their shoulders met.

“And what do you think you are doing?” Hinata looked up to Ino and Sakura’s mouth dropped open, “Hinata is my friend, you know?”

While Sakura let out a cry of distress, Hinata blushed, her eyes widened and the world stopped moving. It was the first time someone had ever called her that.

 _Friend._ It was a weird word in her dictionary, but it wasn’t unpleasant. On the contrary, it made her feel happy.

She was happy.

Ino kept on grinning foolishly and the pinkette cried, “Apologize for your actions right now, Ino-pig! Or–” sakura was cut short with Hinata’s timid voice.

“Sa-sakura.” She took a breath and tried again, “Sakura!” By now, both girls watched the princess with raised brows; they did not understand what she was trying to say, and Sakura could not help but respond with a timid, “Yes?” Pointing a finger at herself.

“I will call you Sakura, and you will call me Hinata!”

 Sakura looked dumbfounded and Ino turned around trying to cease her outgrowing laughs in vain. Hinata looked in distress to Sakura, “Is it something I said? Was it wrong? Maybe I shouldn’t have!”

Sakura did nothing but blink, the whole scene was weird. Did the princess just ask her to be her friend?

Her, Sakura? The one who had been _harsh_ on her? Was this a joke?

“I knew it,” Ino said between laughs, “you sure are interesting, Hinata! This was the best, more than Sasuke’s!” Hinata flinched at Sasuke’s name –which did not go unnoticed by the pinkette.

And suddenly, the bell rang, announcing dinner.

“Just shut up, Ino.” Sakura breathed out, closing her eyes; she could feel her quick pulse in her veins and the growing warmness in her cheeks. It was unbelievable. She massaged her head for while; Ino was good at giving people headaches. Opening her eyes, she locked her gaze with Hinata’s and said, “Naruto does not like to wait long to eat. Let’s get going,” she turned her back and started walking, “ _Hinata_.”

Hinata stiffened and Ino just smiled, “That’s quite a development there, who knew that Sakura could actually befriend a rival for the heart of the most beautiful Inugami!”

“I am not after his heart!” Hinata denied, blushing. Ino giggled.

“ _Of course_!” She held her hand once more, “let’s go.”

Ino was more than willing to know more about this new _friend_ of hers.

-:-:-:-:-

The night was quick to fall that day; people slept in their houses, leaders made a step further, villains prepared themselves for the upcoming feast, Yokai roamed around, and among them stood one single man who did not care one bit about the future of the world. He walked into a small dirty inn located in the gloomiest places of the capital; he did not need to state his presence or anything, he simply walked in with his gigantic sword on his back. He climbed the stairs and walked down the corridor toward the last room of the corridor. He did not need to knock and the door was soon opened by the occupant of the room who leaned against the door frame.

“I didn’t know you were back, Zabuza.” The man said, raising a curious brow at the guest by his door. “Back to work?”

Zabuza entered the inn room, it was gloomy and messy. The swordsman did not bother the mess; he took off his sword and sat on the futon. “No, I’m here for some personal business.” Zabuza fumed, he laid his eyes on the man in front of him who stiffened at his dark gaze. “I’m looking for a certain person.”

The man knew Zabuza as a dreadful ex-executioner of the Water clan, who never liked to beat around the bush; the demon of the hidden mist was there for a serious reason, the man smirked thinking about a certain scientist who would be interested in this.

“I’m at your service, Zabuza. You know the price and the conditions, tell me what you know, and I will find you that person by dawn.”

Zabuza put down his gigantic sword down and started talking, the other party listened carefully, “Do not deceive me, Kidomaru.”

Kidomaru smiled and bowed, and Zabuza watched him as he merged with the darkness before his eyes closed slowly; the faint smell of Artemisia reminded him of long lost days.

_Haku._

* * *

 

Omake:

B lied tiredly on the futon; his eyes were fixated on the dim light of the candles, and his mind wandered elsewhere. Naruto was meant to be back in a month; instead, he came back three weeks earlier accompanied by three people who were their _supposed enemies._

 _‘I need to see_ him _sooner than expected_ ; he _must know of this sudden turn of events.’_ He thought, pouring himself more sake. Sighing, he drank directly from the bottle, ignoring the cup.

He titled his head and looked at a sealed letter next to him.

B closed his eyes, cursing his bad luck.

Uchiha Itachi did nothing but bring bad luck. 

* * *

 

**A/N:**

**Black widow of Japan: latrodectus elegans.**

**Yuki-Onna: liter. Snow woman, is Japanese female Yokai renown for her beauty and white skin. She feeds on the life force of men by sucking it out of them with an icy breath, leaving them frozen solid.**

**Shokera: is a very large, dark-skinned, three-toed demon that has connections with the Koshin, an esoteric Japanese folk religion with origins in Taoism. During the Koshin-machi, a special night in the Koshin faith that occurs every sixty nights, it hunts anyone who violated the laws of heaven as reported by the three spiritual insects.**

**Artemisia: is a flower with the meaning of Absence.**

**Hey everyone! I just realized i did not update the story here :D for all who follow me on ff.net, sorry for the long absence but i promise a new chap will be out soon!**

**Thank you!**


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